• Indian PM breaks silence, vows fast-track courts for paper leak culprits
• Protesters reject pledge, demand education minister’s resignation
• Youth-led protests spread across India from Delhi; Gen Z turns memes into a potent tool of protest, dissent
• Human Rights Watch slams use of excessive force
NEW DELHI: Facing escalating nationwide protests and fierce political opposition, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on Thursday on an exam cheating scandal that has ignited a massive youth-led movement demanding the education minister’s resignation.
The protests, initially organised by the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party, erupted over leaks of medical entrance exam papers affecting roughly 2 million students.
As the movement swelled into the largest youth challenge to Modi since he took office in 2014, demonstrations spread from New Delhi to major cities across the country, prompting police crackdowns and internet blackouts.
In his first public statement on the crisis, Modi pledged to establish fast-track courts to prosecute those responsible for the leaks. “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!” Modi posted on the social media platform X. “Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared.”
However, protesters and opposition parties swiftly rejected the proposal, insisting Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign first.
Opposition lawmakers, echoing the youth movement’s demands, disrupted parliamentary proceedings for the fourth consecutive day, forcing repeated suspensions. Thousands of students, meanwhile, maintained a sit-in at central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site.
The Cockroach Janta Party dismissed the prime minister’s announcement, stating that fast-track courts fail to address the systemic corruption in the education system.
The group has called for a peaceful nationwide protest on Friday, July 24, directing local student unions to demand accountability and an end to police brutality.
The protests have been marked by violent clashes. Human Rights Watch condemned the government for using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators.
The unrest has rapidly expanded beyond the capital. Demonstrators mobilised in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Ladakh. In the eastern city of Patna, police fired tear gas and water cannons at students demanding Pradhan’s ouster.
Memes become language of protests
Despite the violence, the Gen-Z protesters are documenting the movement through the distinct, sardonic lens of internet meme culture. Social media platforms are flooded with videos, memes and dispatches combining everyday trends with protest realities.
Gen-Z protestors recorded outfit breakdowns and showcased streetwear, running shoes, and protective masks as tactical fashion statements. The protest chant is frequently paired with demonstrators reapplying cosmetics directly in front of police barricades.
State crowd-control measures are being subjected to rigorous online consumer reviews. One demonstrator jokingly rated the smell and sting of the tear gas like a restaurant review, while another bragged that running from police baton charges helped complete his daily workout goals on a fitness app.
Multiple dispatches note that the chemical sting of the tear gas pales in comparison to the everyday seasonal air pollution experienced in eastern Delhi neighbourhoods. Traditional protest placards have also undergone a digital makeover, confusing older observers and law enforcement alike with dense internet vernacular.
Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2026
