India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday following weeks of mass demonstrations and a new youth movement that posed an unprecedented challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Pradhan announced his resignation on X, stating he had submitted his letter to the prime minister after significant student pressure.
The protests were sparked by irregularities in the education system and alleged leaks in some of the country's most competitive entrance exams. Public trust in the university testing system was undermined by these irregularities, including the leaking of a medical entrance question paper that forced more than two million candidates to re-sit the test.
The nationwide "Cockroach" demonstrations, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, included tens of thousands of angry youth converging in the capital and an activist's 26-day hunger strike demanding his removal. On Saturday, police fired tear gas to scatter protesters in New Delhi just hours before their leaders were set to hold another round of talks with ministers.
Pradhan's resignation marks the first major concession from the Modi government to one of the country's largest student movements in years. The street protests had become a political flashpoint, and the minister's departure represents a major victory for the youth movement.