New Delhi: Actor Ratna Pathak Shah has backed the Cockroach Janta Party-led students’ protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
In an Instagram Reel posted Wednesday, Shah invoked the story of Eklavya from the Mahabharata and asked whether those in power expected students to sacrifice their futures so that “a few people” could remain in power. She captioned it “Aaj ke Eklavya (today’s Eklavya)”.
The Reel came two days after CJP’s “Chalo Sansad” march Monday when protesters attempted to walk from Jantar Mantar towards Parliament demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Police intervened and used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In the Reel, the 69-year-old actor recalled being deeply disturbed by Eklavya’s story as a child.
“What kind of guru asks a child, his own disciple, for his entire future in the form of his thumb?” she said in Hindi.
The adults around her had told her that the story was not about Guru Dronacharya. It was about Eklavya’s devotion, his commitment to learning and his courage to make a sacrifice. She accepted the story as a child but it continued to trouble her.
“Now I understand what kind of guru he was. I can see the same kind of gurus around us even today.” she said. “We talk about becoming a ‘vishwaguru’, don’t we? But we cannot even speak to our own students, our own disciples. What kind of gurus are we?”
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An apology from the generation
Shah also apologised to the students on behalf of her generation saying they had allowed the situation to reach this point despite knowing where it was headed.
“We could see that this would happen, but we could not stop it in the right way at the right time,” she said.
Her generation, she said, has now lost the right to guide young people.
“But we have both the desire and the commitment to stand with you. Call us, and we are with you,” she said.
Her husband and actor Naseeruddin Shah also spoke about the ongoing protests in a teary-eyed video, which is no longer available on his Instagram account. He said that those running the country are ignorant and want the entire country to become “ignorant, foolish, unsuccessful and ruthless.”
(Edited by Stela Dey)
Lath bajao ..inhe kyu chod diya..
Of course whe has backed the CJP.
Not just this protest, she has always backed any kind of ‘protest’ against the BJP/RSS.
It’s just a case of usual suspects. Besides, we all can understand why she feels so strongly against this government.
These are the very people who wish for peace with Pakistan. The Aman Ki Asha brigade.
The Eklavyas appeared for re NEET cleared it and are awaiting admission to their choice of medical colleges. The frequent habit of celebs to draw wrong lessons from epics is laughable !