Thousands injured as police disperse demonstrators with tear gas
The most significant protests in recent years have engulfed the Indian capital, with thousands of students demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan amidst a scandal involving leaked entrance exam papers. This is reported by Glavkom, referencing The Economist and AP.
The Cause of the Protests
The youth movement began in May when the questions for the nationwide entrance exam NEET, which determines student admissions to the country’s medical colleges, were leaked online. Due to the leak, the results were annulled, forcing over 2 million applicants to retake the exam.
On July 20, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched towards the parliament building on the first day of the Monsoon session. Police responded with tear gas and batons, resulting in over 100 injuries. An 18-year-old participant, Anshul Dev, told Al Jazeera that authorities are “treating them like terrorists and criminals.”
Photo: AP
Hunger Strike and Satirical Party
A multi-day hunger strike near the 18th-century Jantar Mantar observatory in Delhi has become a symbol of the protest. Activist Sonam Wangchuk was among the first to begin the hunger strike on June 28. On July 18, police forcibly hospitalized him due to his deteriorating health. Other students, including Jawaharlal Nehru University postgraduate students Neha Bora, Manish Kumar, and Amin Amitoj, joined the action.
The face of the movement has also become the parody “Cockroach Janata Party,” founded as satire but eventually taken quite seriously. Its founder, Abhijit Dipke, stated that activists will not back down until Pradhan resigns.
One protester, 28-year-old Yash Mishra, continues his hunger strike, lying near his backpack next to the structure that has become a popular gathering spot for demonstrators. “Education is like water: a basic necessity that should be accessible to all,” he says.
Photo: AP
Government Response
On July 21, Pradhan posted on X, promising “answers, reforms, and accountability,” but did not offer his resignation. On the same day, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, who also demands the minister’s resignation, staged a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. Police briefly detained him along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other opposition leaders.
The protests forced a temporary suspension of parliamentary proceedings, and Delhi Metro Rail Corp. closed 16 stations in central areas of the city for security reasons. Pradhan accused Congress of “artificially fueling the confrontation,” while Gandhi urged Modi to apologize to the students and reform the examination system as soon as possible.
It is noteworthy that youth dissatisfaction with authorities has become a global phenomenon in 2026. Protests by Generation Z have previously occurred in Morocco, Madagascar, Kenya, Mongolia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In May, tens of thousands of students took to the streets of Belgrade under the slogan “Students Are Winning.”