‘Now or never’: Students defy Delhi lockdown to strike at Indian parliament | Objections

After two days of preparation, Anshuka Ruth Das, 18, left early on Monday with a mission: To reach the protest site at Jantar Mantar in the heart of India’s capital, New Delhi.

Accompanied by a group of friends, the student from Gurugram carried placards hidden in a backpack demanding radical reforms in Indian education and an end to alleged corruption in national exams.

The girls were among the thousands who responded to the call of the Cockroach Janta Party, or Cockroach People’s Party (CJP), a new youth-led party that has emerged as a major challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. march to the Indian parliament.

“We are here for those children who died and committed suicide,” said Das, referring to reports that 12 students they took their lives since the paper’s attack earlier this year.

India’s National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test is the national eligibility test, based on which many medical colleges across the country enroll students for various medical courses. About 2 million test takers are tested each year. But this year, the exam became difficult due to obesity.

After the government confirmed what millions feared, students – many exhausted by months of intense preparation – were forced to retake the test.

The news shook the country and coincided with the exit of the CJP. Originally a satire on TV mocking the comments of a judge comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches”, the group shocked many in India. His social media following grew into the millions within weeks, with the speed of his popularity leaving even his founders stunned.

Director Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old graduate of Boston University in Maharashtra, returned to India last month to take over CPJ’s executive leadership. Along with mobilizing supporters through rallies and organizing other political activities, Dipke and her colleagues supported the student candidates’ demands for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“We wanted to be a part of this group. We want to be accountable,” Das said. “There are practices that will not give us a good seat in college or good grades. I told my mother that it is my right to protest. We have to be here, otherwise we will not get this opportunity again.”

With protesters at Jantar Mantar, many of whom had gathered overnight, expected to march on the parliament, authorities have deployed security measures in central New Delhi. Metro stations were closed, roads were blocked and the internet was blocked.

“The protest area is already over, and this can be difficult,” said Sachin Sharma, the deputy commissioner of the Delhi Police, urging the protesters to return home.

But as the journey continued, the police appeared using a stick and firing tear gas to disperse CPJ supporters. Many protesters were dragged into police cars, some sticking their heads out of the windows to show their bloody faces.

“The protests were peaceful, but suddenly people started running in fear because of the lathi charge,” said Mohammad Anis, 26, from Bihar, using the Hindi word for stick.

“Many protesters were beaten during the riots, and my arm and hand were injured. Although I was injured, hungry and tired, I believe that remaining silent in the face of injustice only allows it to continue,” said Anis. The smell of tear gas made me gasp for a moment.

On Saturday, dozens of policemen removed veteran soldier Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar and took her to hospital, 20 days after the 59-year-old went on a hunger strike in connection with protests. The move angered critics, including Wangchuk’s wife call it that “detention without warrant”.

Experts have warned the government in response, saying that the protesters have real interests that have spread around the world.

“The world is changing very fast. Programs that Indians value so much are ending. And the problems of unemployment and social inequality in India are resurfacing,” said Saba Naqvi, a former journalist who has covered Indian politics for many years.

“It’s a reflection of the scene we saw in the film Homebound (which entered India at the Oscars last year) where two young men are shown struggling to live in the midst of rising unemployment and limited opportunities.”

Naqvi said the film portrays life in today’s India, where survival has become a daily struggle, citing problems such as discrimination, high cost of living and poverty that persist despite India’s economic growth in recent years.

“And this happens mostly in places where the BJP (Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party) gets the most votes,” Naqvi said. “For now the party may be running away from the political consequences of a growing economic crisis that is defying the public, but it seems to be facing them at last.”

On Monday, CPJ spokesperson Saurav Das said in a social media post that “the government has reached a dialogue”, inviting the two activists to meet Health Minister JP Nadda. “Our demands are clear. Young people have gathered in large numbers,” said the spokesman.

Asim Ali, an independent political analyst and columnist, said “willingness to speak out is showing a sharp decline”.

He warned, however, that a “quick decision” would not be possible.

“We can see more discussions. If the government pulls, and the leadership is divided, the protests can explode, because they are not organized well,” said Ali, knowing that the leaderless nature of the group reminds of similar youth protests in Bangladesh and Nepal.

“The reasons for the protests seem to have grown to include jobs. It shows the tools of the BJP,” Asim said. “The government can no longer hide behind big decisions without addressing widespread concerns about education and employment.”

For Anjani Kumani, a 20-year-old protester from the village of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, the movement represents a “rare opportunity” to respond to Modi’s India.

“Either the Ministry of Education will resign, or we will not leave here,” he said. “It’s about us here or not.”