A student-led protest movement in India that began over exam paper leaks has grown into a wider Gen Z challenge against unemployment, governance issues and demands for accountability, with protesters calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to act.
The protests, centred in New Delhi, expanded on Thursday despite Modi’s pledge to crack down following a series of examination leaks. Five young protesters at the main protest site told AFP why they joined the movement launched by the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), reports AFP/BSS.
The demonstrations have emerged as one of the biggest challenges facing Modi’s government since his re-election in 2024.
‘Speak up’
Madhu, 21, said a medical entrance exam paper leak that forced more than two million candidates to sit for a retest was the initial trigger for the protests.
“The paper leak was the spark and the CJP provided a platform for people to protest,” she said.
“But now it has become a forum to talk about our many problems, from unemployment to the lack of freedom to speak up under this government.”
She said the growing support for the protests reflected “years of repressed frustration”.
“It has been a long time since this government last spoke to us in good faith,” she said while helping clean the protest site.
Madhu, who wore a surgical mask and gave only her first name, said her parents were worried about her safety but she felt compelled to join the movement.
“Sometimes you have to overcome your own fears,” she said.
‘Just sack him’
Aarohi Singh, 23, travelled overnight by train from the northern city of Lucknow to join the protest, carrying a duffel bag and no return ticket.
“My parents told me to go and mark our presence,” said Singh, who runs a beauty salon. “I don’t have a place to stay, but that’s fine — at least I have the company of thousands of people.”
For Singh’s family, the movement is personal. Her younger sister was forced to retake the medical entrance exam after the paper leak but failed.
“I know how much money my parents spent on her preparation, but after the paper leaked she was demoralised and broken,” she said.
Singh said she was shocked by the government’s reluctance to remove the education minister, which is one of the protesters’ main demands.
“There’s the people of the country on one side and the minister on the other,” she said. “Why can’t the prime minister just sack him?”
‘Demand accountability’
Sahil, 28, a corporate employee, has been attending the protest every day since Monday after taking sick leave from work.
On Thursday, he was coordinating hundreds of food deliveries sent by supporters from across the country.
“I am part of this because I can relate to what the affected students must be going through,” said Sahil, who uses only one name.
“I am here to demand accountability.”
He said the movement had grown beyond education-related concerns.
“It began with students and education, but people are coming and raising their own set of problems,” he said.
“People are protesting against what they feel is wrong in the country.”
‘All I have is hope’
Engineering student Kunal Suryavanshi, 17, travelled from a small town in Madhya Pradesh to join the protest.
He said the movement offered a chance to stand alongside people willing to speak out.
“We live in a deeply unequal country where every protest is crushed with brute force,” he said.
“I have come to be part of something that will hopefully lead to change.”
Suryavanshi said he planned to remain in the capital for some time, spending his days at the protest site and sleeping at a nearby Sikh temple.
“But if I don’t get space there, the pavement is just fine,” he said, with his face partly covered by a handkerchief.
“All I have brought with me is hope.”
‘Broken’ system
Yuvraj, a 24-year-old law trainee from Punjab, joined the protest wearing a Spider-Man mask.
“We live in a surveillance state,” he said, giving only his first name.
“The state is watching us, so we cannot afford to take a chance.”
He said staying away from the protest would have been his “biggest regret”.
“We have to protest because the system is completely broken and some things are bigger than you,” he said.
Yuvraj said an entrance test for a government job he applied for last year was also allegedly compromised.
“You prepare for years for an exam only for the paper to be leaked, and then you are told to try again next time,” he said.
“It is just not acceptable. There has to be some accountability.”
