As the Parliament’s monsoon session begins, the Union government faces one of its biggest challenges in recent times, from the streets rather than the House. Violence erupted during student protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan when police deployed tear-gas and lathicharged the demonstrators, injuring several of them. While activist Sonam Wangchuk – on a hunger strike for three weeks – was forcibly hospitalised, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke concluded his fast on Monday. What began as student unrest over a NEET paper leak has steadily gathered momentum to assume larger proportions. The rising participation in the street demonstrations and the support they have found among the civil society emphasise resistance no longer limited to a compromised examination. These protests are now a larger platform for dissent, questioning recurring failures in the education system.
Thousands from different parts of the country have taken to the streets of Delhi. Their numbers are expected to grow. The demonstrations are centred on two critical issues: a lack of democratic accountability from the government and the fallout of systemic lapses on higher education. Repeated paper leaks – including the recent one ahead of NEET, which led to the suicide of at least 12 students – expose a deepening crisis. The government has responded citing the arrests of culprits behind the leak. However, arrests only address criminal liability. The moral responsibility for lapses that threaten to derail the futures of thousands of students rests with the Education Minister. Institutional accountability is at the core of democracy. When Pradhan called the protesters the “B-team of terrorists”, he discarded that fundamental principle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to make a public statement on the issue against the backdrop of the escalated protests. The anger over the paper leak is palpable, but beyond one instance of administrative failure, the students are also expressing anxieties over employment and life after college. When they voice these concerns and demand reform, the government needs to listen. Attempts to delegitimise the protests and vilify the students must stop.
The detention of activists and Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday highlights the growing restrictions on democratic dissent in the country. The space for disagreement has shrunk under the Modi government. It has met agitations by students, farmers, activists, critics, dissenters, and opposition leaders with force, often branding the protesters anti-nationals. A government unwilling to engage in dialogue with the citizens cannot be regarded as truly democratic in spirit or practice. (Source: DH)
