Indian police fire tear gas at exam protest march

New Delhi: Indian police fired tear gas on Monday to stop thousands of protesters demanding the education minister’s resignation and wider examination reforms from marching on parliament.

The demonstrators, mostly young students, converged at the Jantar Mantar protest site in the heart of New Delhi in a show of force by an online movement that has tapped into widespread anger over the education system and unemployment.

The area reverberated with the sound of tear gas shells fired at protesters, who responded by pelting stones, AFP correspondents saw.

Dozens of protesters and police personnel were injured in the clashes, witnesses said.

As tensions escalated, Delhi Police issued a statement urging protesters to exercise restraint and “refrain from indulging in any unlawful or violent activities”.

The protesters are seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches.

They defied a steady monsoon drizzle and heavy police barricading to join one of the capital’s biggest demonstrations in around five years.

“Our country deserves a government that is bothered about what the young people have to say and is willing to correct its mistakes,” said Sumit Kumar, 18.

“The future belongs to us and not these politicians.”

The internet was cut in parts of central New Delhi during the protest, which police said they had not authorised.

The protest came after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital on Saturday, bringing an abrupt end to his 20-day hunger strike in support of the movement launched by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

The CJP has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May, fuelling one of the biggest challenges to Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he won his third term in office in 2024.

– ‘Ignored’ –

“Why is the police resorting to tear gas assault on peaceful protesters?” the CJP said in a post on X.

“First your govt ignored this protest for a month and now when we are peacefully marching your govt is attacking us. Why?”

Wangchuk said later on Monday he would resume his hunger strike in hospital after seeing the “brutality with which peacefully protesting students are being dealt with”.

Modi did not mention the protesters in a public address before the start of the monsoon session of parliament on Monday.

Despite rapid economic growth, millions of people in the world’s most populous nation still struggle to find stable and well-paying jobs, fuelling discontent.

Some 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the previous test was scrapped following the leak of a question paper.

India’s ‘Cockroach’ movement vows to protest until education minister resigns

That came on top of another scandal related to the online marking system of tests taken by nearly two million high school students.

Two CJP leaders met senior minister JP Nadda on Monday and submitted a letter spelling out their demands, which include compensation of 10 million rupees ($104,000) to the families of each student who reportedly took their own lives following the medical paper leak.

– ‘Dragged around’ –

Shubhi Rao, 16, said she had joined the protest to demand accountability from the government.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown himself as someone who isn’t bothered about the youth of this country,” she told AFP.

Rahul Gandhi of the opposition Congress party accused Modi of trying to silence young people who were raising legitimate questions about the education system.

“The criminals who leaked the papers roam free and the students raising valid issues are dragged around, beaten,” he said on X.

Opposition members also chanted slogans inside the parliament’s lower house, demanding justice for students.

Smaller protests were also held in Mumbai and Goa.

The CJP movement, founded by public relations graduate Abhijeet Dipke, emerged after Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly likened young people to “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a court hearing, sparking outrage.

The protest appeared likely to continue on Tuesday, with CJP spokesman Saurav Das saying that the party was yet to hear from the government about their demands and that the protest at Jantar Mantar would continue.

“We are still waiting,” Das said.