NEW DELHI – Thousands of supporters of India’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement are camping in the capital New Delhi to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the biggest public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in his third term.
Let’s take a look at the origins of the protests and the current situation.
Why do protesters want Pradhan to resign?
The direct trigger for the demonstrations was the cancellation of the National Eligibility and Entrance Examination (NEET), India’s medical entrance exam, after it was revealed that the question papers had been leaked.
Approximately 2 million students across India took the exam on May 3, but it was later canceled after about 12 students committed suicide in connection with the cancellation.
A retest was held in June.
Why is NEET important?
The exam is the only gateway to medical school in all of India and is one of the toughest entrance exams in India, with millions of candidates taking it every year and competing for fewer than 150,000 seats.
The situation is also symptomatic of broader strains in the country’s higher education system, forcing millions of people to cram for months or even years on extremely limited slots, leaving many burnt out and in debt after high-stakes entrance exams.
Have exam papers ever been leaked?
Leaks of exam question papers are quite common in India, and the NEET questions themselves were similarly leaked in some places in 2024, but no re-examination was ordered at that time.
Documents for other exams in the South Asian country of 1.4 billion people, including those for police constables and teachers, have also been leaked.
Why is this leak different?
This year’s exam leaks coincided with the birth of a satirical movement calling itself the Cockroach Janta Party, which appears to have channeled youth discontent into the current protests.
Experts say the group, which amassed millions of Instagram followers within days of being founded in mid-May, has successfully tapped into the concerns of people under 30, who make up more than half of the country’s population, such as high youth unemployment and the leak of the latest exam questions.
How did the government respond?
Pradhan said the government is committed to addressing the concerns of young people and is committed to exam reform, while Modi himself has vowed to punish those behind the leaks.
Health Minister JP Nadda met with protesters on July 20 and asked for time to discuss their demands, including the release of fasting activist Sonam Wangchuck, who was taken to hospital last week, and compensation of $104,000 each for students who died by suicide after the exam leak.
How is it now?
Two days after tens of thousands of demonstrators attempting to march on parliament were attacked with tear gas and batons, thousands remain camped at a sit-in protest site in New Delhi, and movement leaders say they will remain there until their demands are met.
Opposition parties, including the main opposition Congress party, also vowed to advance their cause inside and outside parliament, seeing it as another opportunity to corner Mr. Modi and his party over the issue, which has caused a huge stir and affects Mr. Modi’s youth voting base.
