India's Education Minister Finally Resigns Under Student Protests
This weekend, a major news story broke in India: Darmanendra Pradhan, the minister overseeing national education, resigned amid widespread student protests. The catalyst for this crisis was a massive leak of exam questions for the nationwide "college entrance examination," reportedly resulting in the deaths of numerous young students.
How big did this blow up? For several weeks now, from the capital New Delhi to other major cities, large crowds of young people have taken to the streets every day, chanting the same slogan: "Pradhan, resign!" These students believe that if exam papers could be leaked, the education minister must bear full responsibility.
Facing mounting pressure, Minister Pradhan publicly shared his resignation letter on social media addressed to the Prime Minister. In his letter, he stated he has always respected the dreams of youth, even referring to them as “the nation’s true strength” and “builders of the future.” But then he pivoted, explaining his resignation was for the sake of “national interest,” so that those “opposing the country” wouldn’t weaponize the situation further and continue destabilizing the environment.
Just one day before his resignation, student representatives had been negotiating face-to-face with government officials, presenting their firm demands: the minister must step down, and the examination system must undergo complete reform. When the resignation announcement came, protest leaders initially refused to back down, claiming two conditions remained unmet—compensation for families of students who died by suicide, and accountability for police violence during a recent crackdown on demonstrators.
But the situation turned quickly. Within just a few hours, they suddenly announced: all demands had been met! The protests immediately ended, and everyone rushed home. The square occupied by demonstrators soon emptied out.
The whole incident began rather absurdly. Months ago, a senior Indian judge casually referred to young people as “cockroaches” during a court hearing. This nickname went viral online, became a meme, and eventually evolved into a real-life protest movement. Coincidentally, it coincided with serious issues surrounding this year’s Medical College Admission Test (NEET) held in May—after the exam, allegations surfaced that the test papers had already been leaked, along with reports of various cheating schemes. In panic, the government canceled the exam involving over 2.2 million candidates and later scheduled a retest.
But during the window between cancellation and rescheduling, tragedies kept unfolding. According to Indian media reports and police records, at least 11 students took their own lives under unbearable pressure. This sparked outrage among students, and peaceful protests quickly turned violent. On Monday, when protesters attempted to storm the parliament building, police responded with batons and tear gas, leading to nearly 180 injuries—including 60 students.
In fact, Prime Minister Modi had previously stepped forward multiple times to calm students, confidently promising a thorough investigation into the leak and even introducing a new anti-cheating bill in Parliament in an attempt to regain control. Yet clearly, students no longer believed these assurances. Only after the education minister actually resigned did this storm—born from an internet meme and transformed into a real crisis—temporarily subside.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871729609482240/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.