New Delhi: Dozens of young men and women pulled a rope from both sides and were lost in the loud laughter and fun that came with it. Such scenes played out Saturday afternoon at Leo Tolstoy Marg in the heart of Delhi.
This was the same stretch that had earlier seen a tsunami of crowds attempting to march towards the Parliament complex, tossing the police barricades and then descending into chaos.
The charged-up anger and resentments of the thousands of protesters gave way to celebration and laughter, after the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The tug-of-war game was part of the fun.
The massive crowd, which had been camping at Jantar Mantar before spilling over to Leo Tolstoy Marg due to overcrowding between the barricades at the “designated protest site” since Monday, had every reason to celebrate.
They emerged triumphant in the tug-of-war with the Narendra Modi government, forcing it to take a step back for the first time in its 12-year tenure. After his exit from the education ministry, Pradhan was reduced to being a member of the Lok Sabha, where he represented the Sambalpur constituency of Odisha.
Hours later, representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had organised the protest more than a month ago, met Union Ministers Jitendra Singh and J.P.Nadda, and then called off the agitation urging their supporters to return home.
For Akshat Jain, a PhD candidate from IIM Indore, Pradhan’s resignation served as a reminder.
“Now, the government will take us seriously. Did the Prime Minister not see that the students have been protesting for weeks now? This is an important reminder that the government should not take the current generation lightly,” he told ThePrint at the Janpath roundabout, soaking in the news of Pradhan’s resignation.
He was trying to process the news after the events that had followed a few weeks ago. His motivation to join the protest was to seek accountability from ministers.
While he believed that the protest would end, he said, “a process has started now.”
Also Read: The rise and fall of Dharmendra Pradhan: How ‘quiet’ BJP leader lost the plot with NEET backlash
‘New precedent set’
A native of Madhya Pradesh, Sharan (goes by first name only) has been in Delhi-NCR for more than a decade now. But the experience of the last week, he said, will stay with him forever.
“I must tell you, the youth of this country is struggling for jobs and basic necessities. Our education system has collapsed across the country. This government must be serious now on these issues and take the reforms beyond self-promotional reels and posturing over social media,” he said in an animated chat as Delhi Police personnel start urging them to return home.
Loudspeakers blared in the background. “All your demands have been met by the government, and all metro stations in the nearby area have been opened. Please return home,” the police requested the Jantar Mantar protesters.
Sharan remained unfazed. “Pradhan’s resignation is the first and not the last step.”
“The same NEET exam was leaked in 2024, and we don’t know what steps were taken then. Since Pradhan has resigned and accountability has been fixed, other ministers will be on edge, and they are next in line if performance does not come according to the will of the people.” he said, before starting his return to neighbouring Noida.
For Shirin John, a nurse from Durg, Chhattisgarh, who quietly sat down on the divider, looking at the jubilant people, it was a time to evaluate.
She did not have an internet connection due to the shutdown. “I feel this resignation is temporary. This is not a permanent solution. After this government, the next government might again be BJP.”
“Unless the Prime Minister is removed, nothing will change,” she said.
The motivation doesn’t die down. Shirin said that tomorrow, if needed, people will circle back and continue their protests.
A Class 12th passout from Bihar, Salman was also sceptical about the government’s word to fix accountability and clean up the system.
“This resignation is just a trailer. They have removed one corrupt minister, but what if another one is elected? We can’t trust the government,” Salman, who has spent nearly a week at the protest, told ThePrint.
He went a step further saying that the people, specifically the students, should get to decide who they want as their education minister.
“In our villages, we elect our mukhiya (village head); president of DUSU (Delhi University Students Union) is elected, so we should be allowed to select our ministers too. We should have faith in those leaders.”