A protester holds a placard after India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following nationwide protests as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest movement in Mumbai, India on Saturday.
Ashish Vaishnav/AP
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Ashish Vaishnav/AP
NEW DELHI — On Saturday, India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, resigned, addressing a key demand from students involved in widespread anti-government protests. These protests had grown beyond the capital, New Delhi, and spread to over a dozen cities.
Students attributed responsibility to Pradhan for a series of exam leaks for university admissions and government jobs, taken by millions annually.
The demonstrations posed a significant challenge to the 12-year tenure of India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The government initially ignored the protests and then criticized them, with Pradhan labeling protest leaders as “the B team of terrorists,” as reported by The Hindu. Media outlets supportive of Modi insinuated that protest leaders were financially backed by Pakistan, India’s adversary and neighbor.
In a letter shared on X, Pradhan stated his resignation was to prevent students’ anger from being exploited by “anti-national forces.” He did not clarify what he meant by this term, which seemed to hint at accusations of foreign influence within the protests. Pradhan did not apologize for the exam leaks.
Near the main protest location in New Delhi, students erupted in cheers. Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old leader of the satirical group ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ that spearheaded the protests, knelt upon hearing the news, raised his fist, and declared, “We have done it.”
In a statement, Dipke pressed for additional demands, including compensation for the families of students who committed suicide after a medical entrance exam paper leaked in May, causing around 2 million students to retake the test. This incident was a catalyst for the protests.
The Indian Express reported that at least 12 students took their own lives following the announcement, some leaving notes expressing their distress over retaking the exam.
Student leaders also called for action against security personnel involved in attacking protesters during a march to Parliament in New Delhi earlier this week.
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