[Source: Reuters]
Indian youth protesters called off weeks of demonstrations and celebrated in the streets on Saturday after the education minister quit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government bowed to demands including calls to fix a cheating-prone exam system.
The worst political crisis of Modi’s third term in office had peaked this week when thousands of protesters marched on parliament, with police using tear gas to control them.
Young voters form a critical base of his Bharatiya Janata Party. But youths calling themselves “cockroaches” had taken to the streets since late June, after national exam papers were leaked forcing a resit which affected 2 million students and galvanised anger about the lack of prospects for young Indians.
The resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the students’ primary demand, came as a surprise because Modi has a reputation for refusing to act under pressure.
Modi’s party faces key state elections next year. Similar youth-led protest movements brought down governments in neighbouring Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh in recent years.
Celebrations erupted at the Jantar Mantar protest site in the capital Delhi, with thousands of youngsters chanting victory slogans and dancing.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, which spearheaded the demonstrations, said it would end its protests.
“We have done it,” said Abhijeet Dipke, CJP’s founder, to loud cheers at the site.
Youngsters shouted “Jai Hind”, a patriotic slogan meaning “Victory to India”, as the national anthem played on loudspeakers and sweets were distributed.
Roads around the central business district of Connaught Place near the protest site were shut amid celebrations and a swelling crowd of thousands of protesters.
Health Minister J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, a junior minister in Modi’s office, held a joint press conference with two CJP spokespersons after another round of talks following Pradhan’s resignation.
