India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of student-led protests over allegations of failing to prevent leaks of medical school entrance exams.
The Cockroach Janta Party, a youth movement that challenges Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of youth unemployment and educational opportunities, called for an end to the weekslong effort to oust Pradhan after the announcement was made. The protests stemmed from allegations that entrance exams to highly competitive medical schools had been leaked and sold to certain students, forcing millions to retake the tests.
Protesters participate in a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
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Protesters participate in a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University graduate and the party’s founder, rallied tens of thousands of students and supporters in New Delhi beginning in May to force Pradhan’s resignation and demand compensation for the families of students who committed suicide after being affected by the entrance exam scandal. The group derives its name from comments made by India’s chief justice in May, who referred to unemployed Indian students as “cockroaches.” The party grew in prominence through a viral social media campaign.
Pradhan’s resignation is a rare instance of Modi’s government yielding to public pressure. Pradhan cited the need to ensure that “anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation” and that “national unity remains intact” in his resignation announcement, while also admitting that “irregularities were found” in the entrance exam.
Protesters participate in a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
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Protesters participate in a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
“The government of India immediately took cognizance of the matter, handed over the investigation to the CBI, canceled the examination, and announced a date for the re-examination,” the announcement said.
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The youth movement argues that India’s substantive economic growth hasn’t produced positive economic outcomes for young people and students. Though over 40% of India’s 1.4 billion people are under 25, unemployment rates for that group are among the highest in decades.
India’s organized crime networks allegedly stole and distributed copies of India’s national medical entrance exam, which is required to be taken and is widely seen as a path to economic success. Over 2 million students had their scores scrapped after taking the exam in May.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
