Thousands Rally in New Delhi Against Education Minister Amid State Crackdown
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Nearly a thousand demonstrators gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, seeking to march to Parliament and demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The state, fearing the power of collective action, blocked the march, citing so-called security concerns.
Around a thousand supporters of the youth-led Cockroach movement assembled at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday, determined to march to Parliament and demand accountability from Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In a familiar display of state repression, police encircled the protest site, declaring the march unauthorized and justifying their actions with vague claims of maintaining law and order during the monsoon session of Parliament.
Video footage captured the disturbing reality of police wielding batons against peaceful protesters who dared to challenge the barricades. The demonstrators—students, workers, and families—stood united, carrying supplies for a long day and waving Indian flags as they chanted slogans condemning the education minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's neoliberal policies.
The Cockroach Janta Party, born out of the establishment’s contempt for the unemployed—after a Supreme Court chief justice dehumanized youth by calling them 'cockroaches'—has become a rallying point for those betrayed by a corrupt system. The movement surged in response to repeated leaks of critical entrance exams for medical colleges and government jobs, and intensified after police forcibly hospitalized hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday.
'I will end my hunger strike only if the government takes responsibility for failures in the education system and exam paper leaks, or if protesters are allowed to reach Parliament and lawmakers pledge to raise the issues in both Houses,' Wangchuk declared, exposing the government’s refusal to engage with legitimate grievances.
Police, intent on silencing dissent, barricaded the protest site and used loudspeakers to order the crowd to disperse. Saurav Das, a spokesperson for the Cockroach Janta Party, revealed that he and another representative were meeting Health Minister J.P. Nadda, hinting at the government’s attempt to placate the movement without real change, though officials refused to confirm the meeting.
Education Minister Pradhan, echoing authoritarian rhetoric, accused the protesters of acting against the nation, while other ministers paid lip service to student concerns but dismissed the need for meaningful dialogue. The protests have drawn support from opposition parties, rights groups, and public figures, underscoring the growing alarm over the erosion of dissent and the right to protest in India.