Behind the protest: Stories of students who risked everything to be heard

Several students participating in the Jantar Mantar protest said they concealed their travel plans from their families to join the agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak. They described the movement as a fight to protect the integrity and future of India's education system

New Delhi: Seventeen-year-old Yash Kumar told his parents he was still in Kota. Sixteen-year-old Meena said she was travelling to Delhi for a friend’s birthday. Instead, both boarded trains to the capital to join the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak controversy.

They are among several students who say they have concealed their participation from their families, believing the cause is worth the risk. While the agitation has drawn support from civil society groups, teachers, political organisations and citizens, its core remains students who say they are fighting for the future of the country’s education system.

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Kumar, a Class 12 student from Kota who is originally from Bihar, said students are often told that studying hard is enough to secure their future.

“Students in our country are always told to focus only on studies and everything else will fall into place. But when students dedicate years of their lives to becoming doctors, engineers or teachers, and then the government makes mistake after mistake, who suffers?” he asked.

Kumar said neither his parents nor his friends know the real reason behind his presence in Delhi. “My parents think I am still in Kota and my friends believe I came to Delhi to meet my brother,” he said. Such untold stories have become a quiet undercurrent of the protest, where many young demonstrators have concealed their participation from their families to avoid opposition.

Among them is 16-year-old Meena, who goes by her first name and hopes to appear for the NEET examination in 2028. Originally from Uttar Pradesh and currently living with her grandparents in Mumbai, Meena travelled to Delhi after a childhood friend invited her to join the protest.

“I told my grandparents I was coming to Delhi to attend my friend’s birthday party. They were initially against the trip, but I somehow convinced them,” she said.

For Meena, the protest is about protecting the future of students who are yet to enter the examination system. “There comes a time when students cannot just hide behind books while others make decisions for them. It is our future and we have to fight for it before it is too late,” she said.

“The paper leak happened this year. What if it happens again next year, or the year after that, when I appear for the exam?” she added. Behind the main stage at Jantar Mantar, several students have pitched makeshift tents and have been staying at the protest site for days despite rain and difficult conditions.

Nineteen-year-old Mayank Pasricha, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, said he has remained at the protest site since climate activist Sonam Wangchuk began his fast. “I have been here since Sonam Wangchuk started his fast. When the police action happened on July 20, I took shelter at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib,” he said.

Pasricha said his family did not approve of his decision to join the protest, but eventually accepted that they could not stop him. “I came here alone, but I have made incredible friends. Everyone has been kind. There has been enough food for everyone and the gurudwara has also supported us,” he said.

As the protest enters another day, these personal stories of students travelling hundreds of kilometres, keeping their plans hidden from their families and living out of temporary shelters have become symbolic of a movement that they say is about far more than a single examination.

The protest began in late June with an indefinite hunger strike by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

As the protest progressed, it garnered support from various organisations and political parties, culminating in the July 20 Parliament march, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and joined by hundreds of demonstrators.

The demonstration ended in a confrontation with the Delhi Police, with protesters alleging they were lathi-charged and forcibly removed from the protest site. Several students sustained injuries and some were detained, while the police denied using excessive force.