The protests and hunger strikes may have ended, but the fight for justice has not..

Over the past summer in India, millions of young, educated and frustrated students took to the streets of New Delhi in anger over the recent suicide of several students who had to retake the immensely difficult, expensive and highly competitive medical school entrance exam referred to as the National Eligibility Entrance Exam or NEET because several exam questions were leaked in advance prior to the scheduled exam in May.

Once the leak came public, the Indian government voided the test results for over 2 million students and they were told there would be another chance to retake the exam this past June.

The intense financial and psychological pressure of retaking the exam resulted in the deaths of the students. .

Preparation for the NEET exam costs thousands of dollars often resulting in families having to take out bank loans, selling their farm land, pawning their ancestral jewelry or homes in order for their son or daughter to get accepted into medical school.

The student’s suicide were met with silence from the government who had not yet released a statement on the deaths for weeks which instigated massive street protests, social media outbursts and angry students demanding justice.

India’s high-ranking Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, referred to the student protestors and unemployed young adults who took to the streets to bring justice to the deceased students and the fractured education laws as “cockroaches.”

That comment did not sit well with the millions of young students who felt insulted and ignored and as a result, formed a large, viral youth and civic movement lead by the famous student activist Abhijeet Dipke called the Cockroach Janata Party.

It spread like wildfire.

Within days, millions of students joined the movement wanting change and accountability from political leaders. Social media played a key role in spreading the awareness of the group which currently has almost 26 million followers on Instagram.

A website went up immediately to show support for the movement and to get students to join.

https://www.cockroachjantaparty.org/join#join

Dipke, along with several CJP spokespersons who have graduate degrees from Ivy league schools from the United States, took to the streets in New Delhi in support of the frustrated youth who voiced their ongoing concerns about the high cost of education in India, the lack of jobs for the educated and the limited opportunities for the lower to middle class youths who don’t have the financial means to pay for their education. Many of the educational entrance exams in India are expensive and the costs keep going up yearly.

One of the leading activist in India Sonam Wangchuk, along with several youth leaders in New Delhi, lead a high-profile 26 days hunger strike that gained global attention. Reports in the media have stated that Wangchuk started the hunger strike to bring attention to the students who committed suicide after the families received no support from the government.

The protests and hunger strike were all over social media triggering other students in Indian cities to take to the streets to voice their concerns against the broken educational policies.

Their efforts paid off and their voices were heard when the Education Minister of India, Dharmendra Pradhan was forced to resign over the exam scandal and the suicides of the students.

This was a huge win for millions of students as it was the first time an elected government official had to resign from from student protests.

Their voices were heard and their frustrations understood.

65% of the population in India is under the age of 35. Millions of students graduate from universities and are met with limited employment opportunities.

The current government of India lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the ruling Bharathiya Janata Party, has voiced his concerns for the students and has encouraged them to speak up but in a peaceful manner so there can be solutions to the issues.

Millions of young adults in India where the current youth unemployment rate is lingering at 9.9% according to recent government data, face daily struggles of either finding employment or trying to get into elite schools for higher education. Only 6% of candidates who pass the NEET exam secure a seat in medical colleges in India.

Most of the protests have since ceased in the last several weeks but the CJP movement and its followers are not backing down. They want justice for students and they want the education system in India to be fixed, especially for the lower to middle class families

The journey continues…..and for the students of India, it’s a new and exciting one.

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