NEW DELHI — India’s education minister resigned Saturday after weeks of nationwide protests over alleged exam paper leaks, prompting organizers of the “Cockroach” movement to end demonstrations after saying the government had accepted all of their demands.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation in a post on X, marking a significant victory for the youth-led movement that organized protests, sit-ins and hunger strikes across the country.
The resignation represents one of the most notable concessions made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in response to sustained public pressure during his more than 12 years in office. The last major reversal came in 2021, when the government withdrew controversial farm laws after yearlong farmers’ protests.
The “Cockroach” movement began more than a month ago following allegations of question paper leaks in some of India’s largest entrance examinations. What started as a campaign for education reform soon expanded into broader protests over unemployment, government accountability and economic opportunities, drawing students, professionals, families and activists into demonstrations across New Delhi and other cities.
Following Pradhan’s resignation, organizers announced they were ending the protests after saying the government had agreed to their remaining demands, including broader reforms to the education system, compensation for families of students who died by suicide following the exam leak scandals, and assurances that no legal action would be taken against participants in the demonstrations.
“We urge everyone to peacefully withdraw from protest sites,” Ashutosh Ranka, spokesperson for the Cockroach Janta Party, which launched the movement, said at a news conference in New Delhi.
Thousands of protesters gathered at the movement’s main protest site in the capital celebrated the announcement, waving Indian flags and embracing one another.
The demonstrations became one of the most sustained challenges to Modi’s government in recent years. Earlier this week, police used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters marching toward Parliament, leaving several students injured and intensifying public anger.
Before Pradhan’s resignation, the government had announced plans to establish fast-track courts for cases involving exam paper leaks and introduce tougher anti-cheating legislation. Protest leaders, however, said the measures fell short because they did not address government accountability.
Source: Saudi Gazette