In the agitation by student groups in Ranchi, there are striking parallels with the protests in Delhi’s Janta Mantar – in both form and objectives. The protesters in Jharkhand are demanding accountability for breaches in tests conducted by the state’s public service commission and staff selection commission, and over examination paper leaks. Following talks with the students, the state government cancelled three examinations, and three members of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) resigned. Protesters, who demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into examination malpractices and the functioning of a Lucknow-based testing agency, were lathi-charged and tear-gassed during their march to the state Assembly.

The protests are especially significant for the larger message of youth discontent they carry. At the heart of this response is a broken education and examination system that triggers anxieties among large sections of vulnerable youth. The country has often been warned about the cost of failing to meet the aspirations of its young demographics, and the present distress and street expression are responses to this failure. The names of the exams, the erring institutions, and the details may vary from state to state, but the common theme is the failure of the establishment. In Delhi, the focus was on the resignation of a recalcitrant minister. In Ranchi, too, the protesters seek accountability from the system, though their demands have not taken an overwhelmingly political form. The message may be that youth dissent becomes political when it is handled politically or when established democratic means of protest fail.

Institutional responses – whether from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre or from the Opposition parties in states – have been largely similar. Though the Jharkhand government claims that 98% of the protesters’ demands have been accepted, the ground situation indicates a prevailing disconnect. Political responses have been predictably opportunistic. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has condemned police action on the students, though his party shares power in the state. He should now offer guidance to the government on managing the situation. The BJP says the state government should have talked to the protesters on the first day; however, its government at the Centre, and its leaders, did not engage with the protesting students in Delhi for days, and consistently vilified them. Governments and political parties must realise that the youth take to the streets when the leadership fails. Their protests are desperate calls for systemic accountability. That desperation should be addressed, and not weaponised for political points. (Source: DH)