India's Modi under pressure as youth protest leaders set for more talks
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- Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the government gave protesters a 3:30–4 p.m. Saturday window, and warned the protest would spread unless Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down to take responsibility for flaws in the examination system
- The protests are described as the biggest youth challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014, with opposition parties echoing the demands and disrupting parliament's monsoon session that opened this week
- Monday's police crackdown saw baton charges and tear gas used against tens of thousands of students marching on parliament, injuring many and hardening protester anger, according to the source
- CJP supporters rallied in central Delhi despite the fourth straight day of closure of 18 metro stations, while authorities extended a mobile internet shutdown in the area to a fifth straight day
- The trigger was leaks of question papers for medical school entrance examinations that forced more than 2 million candidates to retake tests, exposing structural shortcomings in the exam system
- Activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike on Friday, hours before federal ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh met CJP representatives Saurav Das and Ranka, raising hopes for a breakthrough
Why it matters: Modi, who built his brand on a youth mandate, now faces his most significant Gen-Z-led street challenge in a decade — one that already forced a police crackdown, a five-day internet blackout in Delhi, and a parliament disruption. With 2 million students forced to retake exams and protesters demanding a cabinet minister's head, accountability for exam-system failures has broken out of campus politics into Modi's core support base.
