Lathis, tear gas, and even pellet guns did not stop them. On July 23, three days after thousands of people, mostly students, were targeted by security forces, many of them returned yet again to Jantar Mantar, New Delhi’s designated protest site, demanding the resignation of the Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan. Their chants rang out across the protest site, “Sharam karo, sharam karo; Dharmendra Pradhan isteefa do (Have shame and resign, Dharmendra Pradhan).”
Among the sea of protesters gathered, a group of them, mainly supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has remained at the site for 34 days. The CJP was founded by Abhijeet Dipke as an online satirical response to remarks by the Chief Justice of India, who referred to unemployed youth as “cockroaches”.
By 5 p.m., much like the previous two days, the area was packed. It had transformed into a high-security zone, with metal barricades lining the streets and security personnel keeping watch as dense crowds of largely Gen Z protesters — many of them cheeky and defiant — waved flags, raised slogans, and recorded the proceedings on their phones. Posters read, ‘RIP democracy’ and ‘Paper leak? Modi hai to mumkin hai (Paper leak? It is possible if Narendra Modi is around)’.
Preeti Mishra, 34, stood out in her orange T-shirt and blue backpack as she carried a cardboard box filled with power banks. She moved between tents at the protest site, distributing them. Mishra, the mother of a two-year-old boy, was also here on July 20, during the Chalo Sansad (March to Parliament) campaign led by the CJP.
“We were marching to Parliament. The police were standing at the first two barricades, but did not try to stop us. However, when we reached the barricade near the Parliament Street police station, they suddenly lathi-charged us,” she said. She and many others fell. “I panicked,” she said. “But some strangers formed a circle around me and other women. They moved us to safety.”
It was only when she went back home that night and scrolled through her Instagram feed that she found hundreds of similar stories, many worse than hers. There were videos showing people in plain clothes tripping protesters, striking women with batons, and a police officer in uniform slapping a woman protester. Moved by what she saw, Mishra crowd-sourced ₹40,000 from friends and family to buy 40 power banks, which she distributed across the site, so that protesters could continue staying in touch.
The CJP protests, led by the youth, has become one of India’s largest student mobilisations in years. Its trigger was the leak of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper for medical college admissions in May, which affected over 22 lakh students. Many feared they would not get another chance to take the exam due to financial constraints. This pushed a generation of angry youth onto the streets of Delhi.
Though the current protest started on June 20, it gained momentum when activist Sonam Wangchuk sat on an indefinite hunger strike from June 28. It received another shot in the arm when Wangchuk was forcibly removed from the protest site by security forces on July 18, ahead of the call for the Parliament March. The CJP movement has since spread across cities in India, with protesters in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Patna, Kochi, Kolkata, Guwahati and elsewhere demanding that Pradhan resign, the families of the students who killed themselves over the paper leak be compensated, and that no FIRs be filed against protesters.
Given the crackdown on protesters on July 20 in Delhi, followed by security forces pulling down tents, dismantling parts of the main protest stage, and nearly clearing the site, many thought it would be difficult for the movement to recover.
But videos of police brutality went viral and angered the youth. One 21-year-old woman, who was injured during the protest, required ventilator support. At least two people suffered injuries from pellet guns allegedly fired by personnel of the Rapid Action Force, the specialised anti-riot unit of the Central Reserve Police Force. When fired from close range, pellet guns can cause serious injuries and even prove fatal.
While the police are mandated to use minimal force during protests, with warnings at each step, many said this did not happen. The forces also allegedly used shock batons. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police claimed that 118 police officers were injured after protesters attacked them, compared to 60 protesters who sustained injuries. An official communication from the police on July 20 said, “Some segments of the media have mentioned sporadic use of violence/detentions at Jantar Mantar by Delhi Police. It is informed that no such incident has taken place and protest is being handled professionally.”
Protesters at Parliament Street, Delhi. | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
These videos sparked outrage. By the night of July 20, people started regrouping at Jantar Mantar. By the next afternoon, the number had swelled to thousands.
Vishwamohini, 19, an undergraduate student of history from Delhi, said she came to the protest after seeing the videos online. “This is the first time I’m taking part in a protest,” she said. “Exams like NEET are important because they provide students an opportunity to prove themselves. Many women need these opportunities to escape early marriage and move forward in life. That right is being snatched from them.”
Her friend, Anumeha, 19, said she felt guilty sitting at home and watching fellow students being attacked. “We wanted you [the government] to come here and speak with the students, but you did not. Now we have all been forced to come here,” she said.
ALSO WATCH Who is Dharmendra Pradhan? The man at the centre of the CJP education protests
Her father is a supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “He told me not to go to the protest — not because the issue is not important, but because I might be lathi-charged or have cases registered against me, which could affect my future. Even he knows that we are protesting for the right cause,” Anumeha said.
As many as 16 metro stations were shut around the protest areas, while Internet services were disrupted within at least a 2-kilometre radius. The University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University issued advisories asking students to refrain from participating in protests in and around Jantar Mantar. The Association of Indian Universities also urged institutions to counsel students to “remain focused on their academic pursuits.”
Scores of people from other States have been living at Jantar Mantar for days. Ripu Giri, 21, a political science student from Bihar, held a placard written in Bhojpuri, “Bihar se aa gaini ja ho, ab garda udi ho bhaiya (People of Bihar have come now, something different will happen),” a reference to the popular TV series Panchayat. Below it was BR-24, his district code — a marker of identity shared by other students from Bihar, who often addressed each other by these codes as a term of affection.
Harsh Raj Kumar, 21, from Patna, said, “Our Chief Minister’s educational qualifications are debatable. There are paper leaks happening nearly every year. There are no jobs. Bihar students have to migrate to other cities for employment.”
He added, “When the political leadership goes to other cities, they talk about uplifting the masses and development. But when they come to Bihar, they talk about liquor and scams of the past as if the students of the State don’t deserve education and development.”
Rajnish Singh, 23, a postgraduate student from Kanpur University in Uttar Pradesh, lamented the lack of teachers in government schools in his State. “Around 80,000 teachers’ posts are vacant. Children struggle with basic reading and writing,” he said.
Neha, national president of the left-leaning All India Students’ Association, who had been on a hunger strike for 23 days, explained why NEET had become the focus of the protest, despite these various other issues in the education sector also deserving a highlight, including the drawbacks of the National Education Policy, 2020. “The National Testing Agency has been functioning as the face of corruption in the education system,” she claimed. “It is closely associated with the government. Since its inception (in 2017), the organisation, which was meant to prevent paper leaks, has instead facilitated them.”
The BJP government has been in power at India’s Centre since 2014. The Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, said there have been 152 paper leaks in 10 years.
More than 2,000 kilometres away in Chennai, after staging a protest with the Communist Party of India’s-affiliated Students’ Federation of India near Panagal Park in T. Nagar on July 20, the CJP-Tamil Nadu launched a sit-in protest at Balan Illam, the State office. Tamil Nadu was the first State to protest against NEET a decade ago.
By July 23, the sit-in protest had entered its fourth day, drawing a steady stream of youths from diverse backgrounds. Akmal Kabir, the State organising secretary of the CJP-Tamil Nadu, said the response had exceeded the organisers’ expectations, as protesters had also travelled from neighbouring Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
Many students used rap, theatre, visual art, and storytelling to voice their opposition to NEET. Among them was Aravind E., a college student from Chennai. A resident of Old Washermanpet, Aravind joined the sit-in for two days and spent one night at the venue.
“Initially, the protest started with a few students, but by Wednesday (July 22), around 500-600 people had joined. More students have continued to come here since. The protest has sparked a larger conversation among students, with many voicing their concerns,” he said.
Aravind said there have been large-scale irregularities surrounding NEET. “The exam has become increasingly difficult for many students to access. Over the years, several students have lost their lives. Many others have faced severe mental stress. One participant told us he had spent 4-5 years preparing for the exam but was still unable to clear it. NEET should be scrapped,” he said.
When gaps exist within a city such as Chennai, one can only imagine the difficulties faced by students in villages, Aravind added. “I don’t think it is possible for me to travel from Old Washermenpet to Anna Nagar for a coaching class. Accessing coaching itself requires privilege,” he explained.
The Tamil Nadu Students Youth Federation, which comprises 20 student organisations, has started organising protests across the State. S. Ilayaraja, chief coordinator of the federation, said, “Earlier, we saw children from economically weaker sections and rural backgrounds dream of becoming doctors and joining medical courses. NEET has shattered many of those dreams.”
Ilayaraja said Tamil Nadu had called NEET a “scam” 10 years ago, even as other States had stayed silent. “We had identified the concerns surrounding NEET much earlier than others. Today, Tamil Nadu continues to keep the demand alive through democratic protests,” he added.
Across the city, several students and youth activists were detained by the police while attempting to stage protests at multiple locations this week. They were later released.
Ilayaraja raised concerns over alleged police excesses, claiming that personnel were being stationed outside colleges and that those without identification badges were being deployed during protests. Comparing the situation with the protests in Delhi, he alleged that such measures reflected a growing sense of a “police State”.
In Mumbai, rain has not deterred thousands from protesting this week. On July 22, when 27-year-old Rhiya Yadav, wearing a hoodie, stood in front of a police van on a busy street in Dadar, she had no idea that the moment would make her the face of resistance in the city. A photo of her act went viral in no time.
The model, dancer, scriptwriter, and businesswoman, whose father is a fauji, said she was angered by the violence against protesting students in New Delhi. When Yadav realised that the police did not have a memo to detain the youths, she tried to stop the van.
Yadav said the system was broken. “We are here to fix and maintain it,” she said. So far, no FIR has been registered against her. She has not been served any notice either.
Rhiya Yadav in front of a police van during a demonstration in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: PTI
However, others have not been as lucky. Shreya Subramaniam, a 29-year-old school teacher, said she was dragged by policemen on the streets, like she was “a goon.” She had joined the protest at south Mumbai’s Azad Maidan.
She said she was apprehended outside a metro station, along with other youth. “They dragged each one of us by our legs. We fell on our backs and hurt our spines,” she said. Subramaniam fainted at the Yellowgate police station due to the pain and was taken to hospital later, she claimed.
But despite that experience, she continued to protest at different sites for three days. One night, at 3:45 a.m., her phone rang. It was a digital notice sent to her by the Mumbai Police, asking her to appear at a police station the next morning.
Several youth claimed that they had received early-hour digital notices. Some claimed that they were asked to send their live locations by the police, some said their phones were confiscated without their permission, and a few said their devices were accessed without their consent.
“This is nothing but illegal surveillance,” said advocate Kalyani Manikrao Mangave, a lawyer providing free legal aid to the students. “Since the day the protest began, we have received at least a thousand calls about alleged illegalities.”
The Mumbai Police have denied any wrongdoing, claiming that they handled the protests and protestors with sensitivity. They have booked 13 FIRs against over 400 people. Nearly half of them are below 25 years; nearly one-third are women.
On the night of July 23, Mr. Wangchuk broke his fast in the presence of two Union Ministers, after the government gave a written assurance that cases against students would be taken back, if they were not violent, said the Leh Apex Body.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Bill to introduce stringent action against paper leaks, along with fast-track courts to examine exam fraud cases. The government agreed to compensate families of the students who killed themselves over the paper leak, and refrain from filing FIRs against protesters.
Yet, there is no sign of the protests abating. After meeting two Union Ministers on July 24, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das told the media that Pradhan must resign or be removed from the Cabinet. Echoing this, a 19-year-old in Mumbai said, “Sonam Sir has withdrawn his protest, but we will continue ours. All we want is Pradhan’s resignation and accountability at the highest level. We will not relent until that happens.”
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Published - July 25, 2026 12:15 am IST