India's education minister resigns after 37-day protest by youth 'Cockroach' movement over exam fraud
Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down on 25 July after weeks of sit-ins, hunger strikes and a police crackdown sparked by a leaked medical entrance exam that drove at least 20 students to suicide.
How a leaked exam ignited a movement
The protest began with a post on 16 May 2026 by Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Boston University student who created the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as a satirical response to a Supreme Court judge calling unemployed youth "cockroaches" and "parasites". The immediate trigger was the NEET-UG, the all-India medical entrance test held on 3 May. Over 2 million candidates sat the exam; only about 3% typically secure a place. After evidence of a question-paper leak surfaced, authorities annulled the results of 2.2 million tests. The cancellation prompted a wave of despair: the movement says 20 students took their own lives, while some media reports put the figure at about a dozen.
Ce l'abbiamo fatta. Dharmendra Pradhan si è dimesso. Questa è una grande vittoria. Dimostra che il Paese è governato dalla Costituzione. Questo è solo l'inizio.
37 days on the street
Dipke's online call quickly drew millions of followers and, by mid-June, thousands began a continuous sit-in at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi. For 37 days the protesters, many of them first-time demonstrators, camped in the square, held hunger strikes and organised marches. On Monday 21 July, police used tear gas and batons to disperse a crowd trying to reach Parliament, but the crackdown only hardened the resolve of the movement.
Negotiations and the first concessions
As the protest wore on, two CJP spokespersons, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, met Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. The government initially accepted two demands: no legal action would be brought against protesters, and the families of the students who died by suicide would receive compensation, though the amount was left unspecified. The demand for Pradhan's resignation remained the sticking point until a final round of talks on 24 July, after which the Supreme Court gave the government one more day to decide.
- Over 2 million students sit the NEET-UG medical entrance exam; later annulled after a leak.
- Abhijeet Dipke launches the Cockroach Janta Party on social media.
- Continuous sit-in and hunger strikes begin at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
- Police use tear gas and batons to disperse protesters marching toward Parliament.
- CJP spokespersons Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das meet Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh; Supreme Court gives government one day to decide on resignation.
- Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, sending a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The fall of a minister
On the afternoon of 25 July, Dipke received a phone call confirming the resignation. He told the crowd at Jantar Mantar, visibly exhausted and with an IV drip still attached to his hand after a bout of typhoid, that the battle was won but not over. Pradhan released a short statement explaining his decision.
Considerata la situazione che si è venuta a creare a Jantar Mantar e in tutto il Paese, ho deciso di inviare la mia lettera di dimissioni al primo ministro.
What the movement wants next
Dipke immediately set out two additional demands: compensation of one crore rupees (about 90,000 euros) for each family of a student who died by suicide, and disciplinary measures against police officers involved in the violence of 21 July. The CJP suspended the street protest "in good faith" on the basis of the government's commitments on education reform, but Dipke warned supporters the fight would continue. The resignation is the first major concession extracted from Narendra Modi's government by a youth-led movement in years, and its organisers say they intend to keep the pressure on until the remaining demands are met.
