India’s Summer Youth Protests Intensify Against Modi Government
The New York Times
As India’s summer of young protest continues, demonstrators bravely confront heavy rainfall and police crackdowns to demand major educational changes. Police used water cannons on Tuesday as demonstrators in Patna protested irregularities in a government civil service entrance exam and attempted to storm the Bihar Chief Minister’s office. Similar incidents spread rapidly to neighboring Jharkhand. Meanwhile, campaigners in New Delhi accused the government of betraying obligations made in the wake of the education minister’s departure, adding to the general dissatisfaction about job prospects following a recent survey that found just 8% of college graduates find work using their degrees.
Mr. Abhijeet Dipke, a postgraduate student, formed the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which is leading the outrage. Mr. Dipke’s ‘Fix the Schools’ campaign first focused on elementary education before developing into a strong grassroots satire. Due to faulty standardized assessments, the federal education minister was forced to resign last month. The CJP briefly suspended its protests after receiving formal government assurances on July 25. However, after the group told its 26 million Instagram followers that significant promises about exam improvements had not been met, further protests broke out.
The stalemate is over an unfulfilled five-point charter that includes examination improvements, the removal of police cases brought against protesters, and financial support for families of students who committed suicide as a result of medical entrance exam leaks. Protesters claim that reform initiatives remain unchanged and that criminal cases are still pending. Mr. Dipke further pointed out that the promised compensation of $104,000 for each of the 21 Maharashtra students who reportedly committed suicide as a result of test cancelations has not yet been given to their families, with officials stating that regulatory frameworks need to be reviewed first.
The CJP is moving on despite Indian police informing the Supreme Court that anti-social elements had entered the protests and the government arguing it cannot interfere in matters under judice. On September 5, India’s Teachers’ Day, the group has planned a nonviolent march from India Gate to the police headquarters in New Delhi. This protest comes after a similar march in July that ended brutally with tear gas, baton charges, and police shotgun fire, emphasizing the growing hostility between India’s young and the government.
