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India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned Saturday after nationwide youth-led protests demanded his removal over alleged irregularities in examinations that could determine students’ futures.
“I have sent my resignation letter to the prime minister,” Pradhan said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
The protests were led by the social media-driven Cockroach Janata Party, or CJP, which emerged in response to exam paper leaks and is demanding broader reforms to India’s education system.
Demonstrations intensified during the week at the Jantar Mantar protest site in central New Delhi before spreading to other parts of the country.
Police fired tear gas and used batons against protesters as they attempted to march toward parliament this week.
The government held two rounds of talks with CJP leaders on Monday and Friday, but little progress was made.
The youth-led movement maintained its demands ahead of a proposed third meeting Saturday.
Pradhan announced his resignation before the anticipated talks took place.
“I am pained to see the events of the past 10 days. This is not a matter of personal prestige for me,” Pradhan said in his resignation letter, written in Hindi.
“India’s youth power is the real strength of this nation,” he added. “My resolve is that we will not let the country’s youth get trapped in a vicious cycle of confusion.”
Protesters celebrated after the resignation was announced.
“We have done it,” CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke told hundreds of demonstrators, drawing a loud response.
The protest movement has expanded to include concerns about unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics describe as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s increasingly authoritarian style of government.
The demonstrations have become one of the biggest challenges to Modi’s Hindu nationalist administration since his reelection in 2024.
The movement is also demanding compensation for people affected by examination irregularities.
CJP spokesman Ashutosh Ranka said protesters want legal cases filed against demonstrators to be withdrawn.
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