Students and young people have come from all corners of India to join the mass movement of the Cockroach Janata Party, protesting against exam paper leaks and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Many travelled overnight by train or bus to reach Delhi — some without telling anyone at home, fearing their families would object.
After Monday’s “Chalo Sansad” march, some deeply affecting scenes have been visible at Jantar Mantar. Several teenagers and young people from Mumbai and Prayagraj (UP) have joined the protest without telling their families or by slipping away from home.
Raj, a 15-year-old from Prayagraj — the city formerly known as Allahabad — left home four days ago without telling anyone. In the one set of clothes he is wearing, he is helping others at the protest site. Handing out cold drinks to fellow protesters, Raj said: “I didn’t bring a bag, because I ran away from home. If my family had found out they wouldn’t have let me come.”
Another young woman from Prayagraj is wearing a mask to hide her identity and is keeping her name to herself. She said her father, people in her village and many of her relatives support the ruling BJP, so she fears they would oppose her if word got out that she had joined the protest.
A teenage girl who came from Mumbai took the train to Delhi to join the movement. Although her parents threatened to stop her pocket money and told her to come home, she said she would fight for her rights and, if necessary, work and become self-reliant.
The protesters are demonstrating with the images and principles of the revolutionary Bhagat Singh, B R Ambedkar, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Savitribai Phule and Jyotirao Phule before them.
One banner in particular has drawn attention, referring to Bhagat Singh’s hunger strike in prison in 1929. At the time Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt said their purpose was “to make the deaf hear,” not to kill anyone. The slogan “Inquilab Zindabad” has become this generation’s chief weapon in the fight against injustice.
During Monday’s march towards parliament, CJP founder Abhijit Deepak walked beside the protesters in a black “Inquilab Zindabad” T-shirt as thousands of young demonstrators chanted the same slogan.
A post circulating on social media appealed for information about a 19-year-old NEET candidate, Rohini Kumar, known for drawing pictures at the Jantar Mantar protest site, who was reported missing from July 20. A later post said she had been found.
Separately, Rizwan, a friend of a 33-year-old protester from Seelampur, said the man, who had been on hunger strike for about a month, was detained by police at about 4:30pm on Monday.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report