Education minister quits as jubilant Indian youth protesters claim victory, end protest

Not only did the education minister resign, but after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government agreed to the demands, including reforms to the examination system, the Indian youth's protests, which had lasted for weeks, were called off on Saturday, and they celebrated their victory on the streets. Due to the leak of national examination questions, more than 2 million students had to retake the exam, and in late June, young people who called themselves the 'Cockroach Janta Movement' took to the streets to protest. This became the worst political crisis of Modi's third term. The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the main demand of the protesting students, surprised the public, also due to Modi's image of rarely changing decisions under pressure. Modi's BJP party is facing major state elections next year, and governments have collapsed in neighboring Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh due to youth-led protests. Celebrations began at the protest camp at Jantar Mantar in the capital, Delhi, where tens of thousands of young people were seen shouting victory slogans and dancing. The youth organization Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the protests, officially announced the end of the demonstrations. Abhijit Dikshit, founder of CJP, excitedly said, "We have won," and shouted "Long live India" along with the national anthem, distributing sweets. After the education minister's resignation, Health Minister J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, held a joint press conference with two CJP spokespersons. Nadda stated that the government had accepted all demands, including reforms to the examination system, withdrawal of cases against protesters, and compensation for the families of those who died due to the leak of examination questions. Pradhan wrote on his X social media page that he had submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister with sincere intentions so that those who want to harm the country could not take advantage of the protests.