India Medical College Entrance Exam Question Leak, Education Minister Not Removed, Stations Closed for 2 Consecutive Days in Delhi, Gen-Z Students Outraged

Mekong, July 23 In India, Gen-Z students are protesting in major cities due to the leak of medical college entrance exam questions, which are taken by the largest number of students, and the fraudulent sale of these questions by responsible individuals. Despite protests continuing for weeks, the government has not yet acted on the students' demand for the dismissal of the Education Minister, and today, July 23rd, hundreds of thousands of students continued to protest in Delhi. Although Prime Minister Modi announced that all responsible parties involved in the question leak would be swiftly prosecuted, 16 major railway stations in Delhi were closed for two consecutive days to prevent the student protests from escalating. Abhijek Deepki, a student leader from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is leading the protests, criticized this, stating that Modi is trying to keep Delhi under lockdown with full security without dismissing or asking for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. On July 18th, after students completed 18 days of hunger strike, an agreement was reached not to arrest peaceful protesters. Consequently, the hunger strike was called off, and a protest camp was set up at the Jantar Mantar memorial site, where protests continued. On July 20th, approximately 1000 protesting students attempted to march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament, but were violently suppressed by the police. This resulted in injuries on both sides due to clashes, and more than 13 individuals were arrested. Concerned about further escalation of protests, Modi announced at the last minute that a tribunal would be formed to investigate and take action. However, the student group clearly stated that they have only three demands and no room for negotiation. The three demands put forth by the students are the immediate resignation of the Education Minister, an apology for the violence against students, and the prosecution of those responsible for the violence against students. Not only student unions but also political parties and the general public have joined the protests, which have spread nationwide. As the situation worsened due to strict security measures and violent arrests, even Bollywood superstar Salman Khan broke his silence and came out in support of the students. Salman Khan, who had been criticized for remaining silent for over a month of protests, wrote on his social media X today, expressing his sorrow for the students and victims of the police's baton-wielding crackdown. He praised and supported the students' unwavering efforts through peaceful protests for the improvement of the country's education system, stating that it is commendable and deserves support, and expressed hope that the central government would take the best possible action and bring about changes. The NEET, India's most subscribed medical college entrance exam, was held on May 3rd for the 2026 academic year. Out of 2.27 million test-takers, widespread pre-sale of questions occurred on online platforms, and the same questions appeared in the exam, leading to widespread anger and outrage among students. Similar question selling incidents also occurred in the 2024 NEET exam. Following this leak, the Indian government canceled the exam and re-conducted it on June 21st, announcing the results on July 16th. 270,000 students did not retake the exam, while 110,000 passed, marking the lowest number of test-takers since 2020. Among the students whose hard work and hopes were dashed and who suffered psychological distress, at least 12 committed suicide by hanging, leading to continued widespread protests. According to information obtained from the investigation, those who sold the questions paid between 200,000 rupees (approximately $2100) and 500,000 rupees (approximately $10000). Koklin Ref: thehindu #MeKongNews #India #MedicalCollegeEntranceExam #ExamQuestions #Leak #EducationMinister