Indian youth protesters called off weeks of demonstrations and celebrated in the streets yesterday after the education minister quit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government bowed to demands including calls to fix a cheating-prone exam system.
The worst political crisis of Modi’s third term in office had peaked this week when thousands of protesters marched on parliament, with police using tear gas to control them.
Young voters form a critical base of his Bharatiya Janata Party. But youths calling themselves ‘cockroaches’ had taken to the streets since late June, after national exam papers were leaked forcing a resit which affected two million students and galvanised anger about the lack of prospects for young Indians.
The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the students’ primary demand, came as a surprise because Modi has a reputation for refusing to act under pressure.
Modi’s party faces key state elections next year.
Celebrations erupted at the Jantar Mantar protest site in the capital Delhi, with thousands of youngsters chanting victory slogans and dancing.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, which spearheaded the demonstrations, said it would end its protests.
“The Cockroach Janta Party declares that we withdraw the agitation in good faith,” CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said.
“All the demands raised by our team have been accepted, therefore we request protesters to withdraw and peacefully go home,” spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka added.
Youngsters shouted “Jai Hind”, a patriotic slogan meaning “Victory to India”, as the national anthem played on loudspeakers and sweets were distributed.
Roads around the central business district of Connaught Place near the protest site were shut amid celebrations and a swelling crowd of thousands of protesters.
Health Minister J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh, a junior minister in Modi’s office, held a joint Press conference with two CJP spokespersons after another round of talks following Pradhan’s resignation.
Nadda said the government had accepted all demands of the protesters, which included reforms in the exam system, dropping police cases filed against protesters and compensating families of students who died by suicide after the exam paper leaks.
Opposition parties had echoed the demands of the youth and disrupted the monsoon session of parliament for the entire week, threatening key legislation planned by the government.
Scenes of police using tear gas to control protesters had also fuelled public anger, although authorities defended their actions saying they were only enforcing the law.
Pradhan announced his resignation in a post on X.
“Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation ... I have sent my resignation letter to the Prime Minister,” Pradhan wrote.
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