India’s education minister resigns – protests end

Leaked documents

India’s education minister resigns – protests end

Street protests and demands from the “cockroach” movement have put the government under pressure. Now the Minister of Education is reacting.

Success for the “Cockroach” movement of young people in India: After their weeks of protests, the Education Minister bowed to pressure and resigned. The movement then announced an end to the protests that had been going on for weeks and had gradually spread across the country.

Former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote in the short message service X that he had “great respect for the aspirations, feelings and legitimate expectations of the country’s youth.”

Loud cheers broke out among thousands of supporters of the “Cockroach People’s Party” (Cokroach Janta Party/CJP) after the move was announced, as eyewitnesses reported and videos show from a rally site in New Delhi that has been occupied for weeks. Thousands of CJP supporters had gathered again in the capital. As in previous weeks, the Jantar Mandar protest site was surrounded by thousands of police officers.

“Democracy has triumphed,” the CJP wrote on “We call on all demonstrators to go home.”

Pradhan’s resignation is considered a great success for the young “Cockroach” movement and its followers. It was one of their core demands. From their point of view, the minister should take political responsibility for the fact that documents from a university entrance examination had become known. More than two million young people were affected and the test had to be repeated.

In discussions with representatives of the protest movement, the government promised, according to the participants in the conversation, that the demonstrators would not have to fear criminal proceedings. Previous allegations that demonstrators had used violence against officers would be withdrawn. A written guarantee should be available by Tuesday, it was said. In addition, Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda and the CJP announced that families of student candidates who committed suicide in the context of the scandal would receive compensation.

According to observers, the protest movement developed into a major challenge for the government and the Hindu nationalist ruling party, the BJP. Recently, there were serious clashes between the movement and the police during street protests in New Delhi. The police used tear gas and batons. There were numerous injuries on both sides.

It was unclear what would happen to the young movement, which developed spontaneously, after the announced end of the protests. CJP founder Abhijit Dipke called on supporters not to make him a hero, according to The Times of India newspaper. “Don’t make that mistake.”

On X, Dipke announced that he had been diagnosed with typhoid fever. The 30-year-old, who, among other things, works in… USA studied and founded the DJP on the Internet there, is now seen in India as a symbolic figure of the Gen Z protest movement, which is against corruption, unemployment and political grievances. “Generation Z” includes people born between 1995 and 2010.