India’s education minister announced on Saturday that he had resigned in a landslide victory for youth protesters. The spiraling demonstrations by protesters pose a rare and growing challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Protesters are demanding accountability after an entrance exam for a prestigious medical school was allegedly leaked and sold, with the unrest led by a youth campaign known as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Dharmendra Pradhan bowed to mounting pressure and announced his resignation on Saturday after tens of thousands of students and supporters took to the streets demanding his ouster and sweeping reforms to India’s exam system. Prime Minister Modi has yet to publicly accept his resignation.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke welcomed Pradhan’s resignation in a statement after the announcement, but added that there was more work to be done. “This is democracy. He has resigned. We have two more demands. We cannot continue like this,” he said.
“Families of children who committed suicide should receive compensation of Rs 1 billion,” Dipke said, referring to reports in Indian media that several students took their own lives after undergoing medical examinations and learning that their results would be discarded. He also called for action to be taken against police officers involved in suppressing protests earlier this week.
Nitin Navin, national president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a close ally of Prime Minister Modi, said Pradhan’s decision to resign “reflects the highest standards of integrity and selfless service in public life.” He added that the party “firmly supports” his decision.
Clashes between demonstrators and police this week have fueled anger among young people and drawn widespread support for the movement.
Pradhan’s resignation is an unprecedented defeat for the government. Mr. Modi, a third-term leader, tends not to be fazed by protests. Critics have long accused the country’s government of repressing opposition and dissent in the world’s largest democracy.
For weeks, protesters have camped in central New Delhi, demanding accountability over allegations that the entrance exam for India’s prestigious and competitive medical schools was leaked and sold, forcing millions of students to retake it.
The movement has been spearheaded by the CJP, a youth-led campaign that started as an online joke but has now evolved into a political force that draws on the discontent of millions of young Indians.
Founded by Boston University graduate Abhijeet Dipke, CJP was created in May after comments by India’s chief justice were widely interpreted as comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches.” The comment struck a nerve in a country plagued by persistently high youth unemployment and quickly became a rallying cry for a generation that feels ignored by those in power.
What started as a meme quickly turned into a nationwide protest movement, uniting students and young job seekers around demands for accountability, opportunity, and institutional reform.
Demonstrators are calling for an overhaul of the long-controversial exam system, which they say puts enormous pressure on students and places a huge financial burden on families who invest heavily in their children’s futures.
They also spotlight India’s serious youth unemployment problem.
India has one of the world’s youngest populations, with more than 360 million people aged between 15 and 29, according to a recent report from Azim Premji University in Bangalore.
However, the report identified the transition from education to unemployment as a “major challenge”, saying around 40% of graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed and around 20% of 20-29 year olds unemployed.
Tensions escalated earlier this week when demonstrators marching to parliament were met with police repression, with officers using batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Many of the protesters are from middle-class families who have traditionally voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party but are increasingly angry about their perceived lack of opportunities in modern India.
Mr. Modi won a third term in 2024, but his party’s majority has shrunk, forcing the government to rely on allies in parliament for the first time. India has a huge youth population and young voters are essential for future elections.
After weeks of not mentioning or acknowledging the protests, Prime Minister Modi on Thursday issued his first public response to the demonstrations.
“A number of effective measures have been taken over the past two and a half months since the paper leak incident,” he said. “The person responsible has been arrested and is currently in prison. Our primary responsibility is to ensure that our students’ academic year is not wasted.”
Earlier this week, he also issued a vague warning to X: “We will not tolerate those who seek to undermine the future of our young people.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
