India's youth protest ends after education minister steps down

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India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday, marking a major victory for youth protesters whose demonstrations over examination paper leaks had intensified in recent days.

Following the announcement, thousands of protesters gathered at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar protest site, celebrating with chants, dancing, and the distribution of sweets. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the movement, declared that it was ending the protest.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke hailed the resignation as a victory, while activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a 26-day hunger strike in support of the movement, described it as "a victory of peace, patience and perseverance."

In his resignation statement posted on X, Pradhan said he had stepped down to prevent anti-national forces from taking advantage of the situation and expressed respect for the aspirations and legitimate expectations of the country's youth.

The protesters had demanded his resignation after the leak of the medical college entrance examination paper in May, which resulted in the cancellation of results and a retest affecting around two million candidates. The demonstrations also reflected wider concerns over unemployment and government accountability.

Later, Health Minister J. P. Nadda and junior minister Jitendra Singh held a joint press conference with CJP leaders, where the group announced it would end the protests under an agreement that no action would be taken against demonstrators.

The protests had escalated after clashes between police and students earlier in the week, with the use of tear gas and baton charges drawing criticism. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi welcomed Pradhan's resignation but said those responsible for the police action should be held accountable and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise.

Pradhan, who had served as education minister since 2021, became only the second Union minister to resign over a major controversy since Modi took office in 2014.