The scenes that played out at Jantar Mantar on 20 July are iconic. The Narendra Modi government appeared clueless about handling protests that seem to be gaining momentum across the country. Thousands of young people have converged from all over India, protesting the repeated leakage of competitive examination papers and the government’s inability to control it. Seemingly impregnable barricades and a massive deployment of Delhi Police personnel and RAF have been unable to stop the youth from marching towards Parliament.
Questions about the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) surfaced as soon as it emerged out of the blue towards the end of May. The motives of those involved appeared suspect, given their sudden emergence from nowhere and the past linkages of CJP’s main characters with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The likelier explanation was that this was a protest sponsored by the ruling BJP, meant to take the wind out of the Congress campaign against paper leaks and the support it was garnering. That suspicion now appears to be borne out, with Sonam Wangchuk claiming he was forced by the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh to contact Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of CJP.
That CJP’s demand was limited to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also points to an attempt to contain and channelise youth anger, and to steal the thunder from Opposition parties who were raising these issues through rallies and protests that reportedly drew widespread support across the country. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has already held two such rallies, which saw large youth turnout and an outpouring of sentiment against the authorities’ inaction. The issues of repeated paper leaks and the declining standard of education, addressed in detail by the LoP at these rallies, drew considerable attention and a positive response.
CJP’s demand for Pradhan’s resignation had drawn a limited response until a couple of days ago. However, Wangchuk’s prolonged hunger strike and the call for a march to Parliament drew a much heavier response, with youth pouring in from all over the country. The scope of the protest widened, giving young people an opportunity to vent their anger and voice their dissatisfaction with the ruling dispensation’s overall lack of governance and its failure to address the many difficulties they face.
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Out of CJP’s control
The turn of events at Jantar Mantar and the use of force against protesters by the Delhi Police have let the movement spiral out of the control of CJP’s leaders. Those who had planned it from the shadows — as a diversion from the widespread dissatisfaction taking root among students, which was beginning to draw popular support voiced by several political parties — no longer appear to be in control either.
The events of 20 July indicate that support for the movement against the ruling dispensation’s acts of omission has become organic, drawing in all strata and age groups and spreading across the country. Both Wangchuk and Dipke now appear irrelevant to the movement, and protests against government policy are likely to gain further momentum even without them. Incidentally, none of CJP’s leaders was visible during the march to Parliament.
A one-time leak of question papers for an important qualifying examination could perhaps be condoned as a genuine, one-off mistake somewhere in the chain. But when it continues to happen at regular intervals, without remedial action from the authorities concerned, it raises doubts about their intent. Such leaks hurt the prospects of deserving candidates and give an undue advantage to those who can afford to pay huge sums to buy the papers. This state of affairs favours the incompetent and undeserving, and results in widespread inefficiency. It also erodes the morale of deserving candidates and costs precious young lives, as seen in the suicides of over 20 candidates after the NEET paper leak.
The atrocious handling of Monday’s protests at Jantar Mantar has brought about a convergence of all strata of the population. Public anger that had been lurking beneath the surface over government policies has found expression through these protests, as has a growing perception of the gap between the government’s pronouncements and their actual implementation. Protests over policies widely perceived as anti-poor and anti-middle-class are likely to continue.
Two of India’s neighbours, Nepal and Bangladesh, have witnessed similar Gen Z protests leading to a change of government. Such a possibility appears unlikely in India, given the country’s vastness and diversity. However, the Modi government must take urgent steps to address issues such as unemployment bordering on double digits, low and stagnant wages, the rising cost of living, an unresponsive establishment, and social discrimination.
Today’s youth are aspirational and have easy access to information. Failure to urgently address their concerns is likely to result in prolonged unrest.
Sanjiv Krishan Sood is a former Additional Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF). He tweets @sood_2. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)