Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): “We girls are not afraid of anyone. Will you tear away our clothes? You can go ahead and do that; we are carrying extra in our bags. We are not scared anymore. This is Bharat ki beti (India’s daughter)”, said Sweety Jaiswal, a research scholar at the University of Allahabad, who had joined the youth protests in Prayagraj on July 25. Hours before the news of the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan came in on July 25, amidst a heavy downpour and among presence of dozens of policemen, thousands of youth protesters gathered on the ground near the All Saints Cathedral in Prayagraj. A defiant tone in Jaiswal’s voice and several others was what struck me during these protests, which were inspired by the over-a-month-long agitation led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. “We never wanted to be seen as cockroaches. We wanted to be like butterflies that could fly. I used to be a BJP supporter, not anymore,” Jaiswal, a former NEET aspirant, further told The Wire.Protesters in Prayagraj, one with a poster saying ‘Eat Melody but not our future.’ Photo: Akanksha Kumar.For a government that spends significant sums of money in advertising its schemes, among which is Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, a young woman turning around with another slogan around beti (daughter) should send alarm bells ringing. However, after Pradhan’s resignation what followed was a regular eulogy by the BJP leadership who praised the former education minister without acknowledging the elephant in the room – a failing education system. Beyond the sarcastic postersFrom ‘Melody khao, hamara future nahi (you can surely eat a Melody toffee but not our future),’ to ‘doobta hoga tumhare yahan chai me biscuit, hamare yahan toh chai me poora desh doob gaya (may be the biscuit is dipped in tea where you live, but where I belong, an entire country sank because of tea),’ the sarcastic lines as seen on the posters held by the Gen-Z protesters conveyed deep-seated insecurities and fears among the youth in Uttar Pradesh (UP), a state which is likely to go for assembly elections around February 2027.UP led by chief minister Adityanath has witnessed a spate of paper leaks in recent years – from the cancellation of recruitment exam for the position of constable in February 2024 to scrapping of exams related to the vacancies of RO (Review Officer) and ARO (Assistant Review Officer) in March 2024 – yet as seen in the May 2026 episode related to the allegations of paper leak in the exam held for hiring of lekhpal (a clerical position in revenue department), the state government chose to go after the whistleblowers, the coaching centres in this particular case which had backed the protesting students. “This protest has been akin to the 1857 revolution. Every individual here has his or her own demands. I had appeared for the RO exam which got cancelled due to a paper leak. The government rescheduled the exam and I sat again for that but even those vacancies are currently stuck in an ongoing legal case, so someone needs to tell me that 3-5 years are gone just like that in just one recruitment cycle, what kind of a system is this?”, asked Alok, a student who has been preparing for various competitive exams since the last few years.A poster from the Disha Students’ Organisation says, ‘The ice will melt in the heat generated by the youth.’ Photo: Akanksha Kumar.“I have to sit for my postgraduate exam, when the NEET exam which is conducted annually can have its paper leaked, what do you think are the chances that my PG exams would be conducted in a hassle-free manner? And then at 2 am, you will come and say ‘Frenz’, please Modi ji stop friendzoning us”, said Aparna, a postgraduate student, when asked about prime minister Narendra Modi’s recent Instagram outreach to the youth protesters. Apart from their own anxieties related to paper leak in a job-related exam held earlier or a prospective college-level test, others who attended the protests on Saturday and were jubilant at the news of the minister’s resignation had their own NEET connection as well which brought them together. “My younger brother sat for the NEET exam whose paper was leaked. Yes, he sat for the exam again but what about the intervening time wasted in between. I myself sat for the police recruitment exam and that paper too got leaked and then when the exam was held again, I could not make it to the merit list. I am 26 and have been preparing for exams since 21, for how long can a middle class family sustain like this?”, said Ashok Patel, who is now gearing up for the examination of Daroga (Sub Inspector). For Akanksha Dwivedi, who was attending a protest for the first time, holding a poster – ‘Kuchu puchu ab toh resign de do’ (Sweetie, why don’t you tender your resignation now?) – “it is important that the government realises the financial cost inflicted on a student every time an exam is rescheduled.”Posters say ‘how much did you sell your shame for?’ and ‘We will write the (resignation), you just sign it’. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.In a statement issued by Disha, a students’ organisation, which was among the participants at Prayagraj’s youth protests, Chandra Prakash said: “After Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, several such Jantar Mantars had begun cropping up across the country. If the government had not listened to the students this protest would have gotten sharper, retaining its peaceful nature at the same time.”“Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is a result of the struggling students all of whom chose to stand united together. This should also heal those families who lost someone to suicide due to NEET exam paper leak”, added Priyanshu, another student from the Disha organisation.A poster reads ‘education and employment are our birthright’. Photo: Akanksha Kumar.Another statement issued on behalf of the Sanyukt Pratiyogi Chatra Hunkaar Manch, a collective of students which had earlier participated in the alleged lekhapal paper leak protests, while responding to Pradhan’s resignation said, “It is due to the struggle of students’ organisations and participation of lakhs of youths that gave a new direction to the debate on accountability.”On the day when CJP protests culminated formally, the Sanyukt Pratiyogi Chatra Hunkaar Manch handed over a memorandum to the UP chief minister and President of India through Prayagraj district magistrate, which stated, “We demand that a fair inquiry be conducted in the lekhpal paper leak case; principle of ‘Minimum Cutoff, Maximum Opportunity’ is followed while admitting candidates through PET [Preliminary Eligibility Test for Group b and Group c related government vacancies]; and that transparency be ensured in vacancies for which exams are conducted by UPPSC (Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission).”