Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is a victory for democracy. Weeks of student protests, which intensified in the past few days, forced the minister to quit. Formed in mid-May, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gave voice to the discontent and anger of students over the NEET question paper leak. It is not just the affected students who demanded action against those responsible for the leak and sought reforms in the examinations and education system; the demands touched a chord with the entire student community and the wider nation. Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s fast in New Delhi gave a boost to the demands and the students’ march to Parliament last Monday brought them to the forefront of national attention. The Narendra Modi government’s attempt to suppress the agitation with police violence only strengthened it, and a recalcitrant regime was finally forced to concede the students’ demands.

The resignation is a political defeat for the Modi government, which has not been receptive to the Opposition, civil society, social organisations, and sections of people on issues big and small. Its conduct has been marked by arrogance, false prestige, intolerance, and coercion. Young citizens have now taught it the basic principles of democracy: sensitivity to people and willingness to be guided by them, accountability for decisions and actions, and the need for humility, sincerity, and honesty. The government tried to counter the protest with violence, and vilified the students with baseless charges.

Various State resources were used against them. It accepted the students’ demands only when it realised that there was no other option and the situation was going out of control. Pradhan claimed he resigned to prevent “anti-national forces” from exploiting the unrest. If that was his reason, he has not learnt the right lesson. It would be a folly to consider that the protests were just about exams or education. They were about freedom, good governance, fair conduct, and the future.

There are lessons for the entire establishment. The Opposition should introspect why it could not take up an issue that was important for millions of young people. It tried to join the bandwagon when it saw that the youngsters were making an impact, exposing the poverty and inadequacy of the Opposition’s politics as much as it indicted the government’s policies and style of governance. The Modi government has tried to enfeeble the Opposition and create an Opposition-mukt Bharat, but the youth have shown that they can fill the void and take up the challenge. (Source: DH)