By Dr. Arun Mitra
Forty-six years ago, I participated in the “Job or Jail” campaign organized by the All India Students’ Federation (AISF). Those memories returned with remarkable clarity on Sunday, July 19, when I spent nearly four hours with students at the AISF stall at Jantar Mantar, where four students were on a hunger strike.
The heat was relentless, and the crowd was so dense that breathing itself became difficult. During those hours, a young woman suddenly collapsed, unable to withstand the scorching temperature and severe dehydration. The students immediately carried her to the stall, where I examined her and reassured everyone that she would recover. I told them that once she regained consciousness, we would administer an oral rehydration solution (ORS).
A medical team arrived shortly afterward. After examining her with their equipment, they confirmed that her vital signs were normal. Soon she regained consciousness, drank some water, and sat up with remarkable determination, insisting that she felt fine. I gently told her, “No, my child. You should still go to the hospital for a proper examination.” She was taken to the hospital and returned about an hour later, walking back on her own.
I recount this incident because that young woman—barely eighteen or nineteen years old, physically frail and extremely thin, yet possessing extraordinary courage and determination—left a lasting impression on me. Watching her, and the thousands of students gathered there, filled me with hope. For years, many of us had wondered why today’s generation appeared so silent. That day answered the question. The younger generation is not silent; its voice has merely been suppressed. When circumstances demand it, that voice emerges with tremendous force.
The NEET examination paper leak dealt a devastating blow to lakhs of students and their families, who had devoted years of hard work and sacrifice in pursuit of a better future. The scandal shattered the confidence of countless young people. Some were unable to bear the crushing disappointment, and around 15 students who should have gone on to serve society as doctors tragically took their own lives. There can be no greater grief for parents than lighting the funeral pyre of their own child. The tragedy left a deep psychological scar on an entire generation, one that had long been searching for an opportunity to express its pain, anger and pent up feelings.
That anger erupted when the head of the country’s highest judiciary reportedly referred to students and jobless youth as “cockroaches.” In response, the symbolic “Cockroach Janata Party” was born. Few insults could be more degrading than likening young people struggling for education and employment to creatures that can simply be crushed underfoot. Cockroaches are universally associated with filth and extermination. The remark became a symbol of the contempt many students felt they were facing.
When the call was given to assemble at Jantar Mantar, many believed that only a few hundred people would attend. Initially, those fears appeared justified. Much of the mainstream media and social media dismissed the protest as insignificant.
The movement gained renewed strength when the noted social activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk began a fast in solidarity with the students. Even then, participation increased only gradually. But when he was detained in what many viewed as a harsh and repressive manner, the situation changed dramatically. A wave of youthful protest swept across Jantar Mantar and the streets of Delhi.
Neither the government, nor the public, nor even the organizers themselves had imagined that hundreds of thousands of young people would converge on the capital, endure the blistering heat, and peacefully face state repression on July 20. Just as the freedom fighters of India’s independence movement silently endured police lathi charges without surrendering their resolve, these students so often dismissed as a generation interested only in mobile phones and social media stood their ground with extraordinary courage, absorbing baton blows without retreating.
Such a massive mobilization did not happen by accident. It was not the achievement of any single organization but the result of the collective efforts of numerous student groups and youth organizations. They raised slogans, designed posters, recorded videos, shared updates on social media, sang songs, beat the dafli, and transformed protest into a powerful expression of democratic participation. Their principal demands included the resignation of the Education Minister, compensation of ₹1 crore for the families of students who died by suicide, the release of Sonam Wangchuk, and comprehensive reforms in the country’s education system.
These students displayed remarkable courage because they challenged a leader who says himself he is non biological, not born of a mother’s womb instead sent by god directly and under whose authority, it is often claimed, nothing moves within the central government without his consent. Yet the students demonstrated exceptional maturity. Despite the enormous size of the gathering, there were no reports of misconduct. Young women and men remained together day and night as comrades and fellow protesters, and not a single incident of inappropriate behaviour came to light. That alone deserves recognition. Just as attempts were made to malign the farmers’ movement, similar efforts were undertaken to discredit this protest. Those attempts, however, failed.
Despite widespread restrictions train services being suspended, metro stations closed, railway routes diverted, and extensive barricades erected hundreds of thousands of young people from across the country reached Delhi and marched towards Parliament. At one point, it appeared that the authorities had finally dispersed the gathering at Jantar Mantar. The unprecedented brutal police repression using pellet guns and shock batons in addition to tear gas and lathi charge did not deter the students. By nightfall, the sit-in had resumed once again. What course the movement will take remains uncertain. Sonam Wangchuk continues his fast.
History reminds us that when the Simon Commission arrived in India, Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally lathi-charged and later succumbed to his injuries. Many believed that the brutality of the colonial government had driven last nail into the coffin of British rule. The events of July 20 invite inevitable historical comparisons. Whether they prove equally consequential remains to be seen. At the same time, it is important to recognize that those in power today are politically sophisticated, skilled in shaping narratives, and supported by organizations capable of spreading misinformation and distorting facts. Vigilance, therefore, remains essential.
The government appears deeply uncomfortable whenever questions of secularism, democracy, the abolition of caste discrimination and social hierarchy, or gender equality are raised. The current student movement has reaffirmed the enduring relevance of these constitutional values. The solidarity displayed by students from diverse regions, religions, castes, and social backgrounds offers a glimpse of the India many aspire to build an India united against falsehood, hatred, and division.
The movement must now deepen the national conversation on education policy, academic integrity, and the rights of students. These discussions must reach schools, colleges, and universities across the country, because one truth has become unmistakably clear: today’s students are ready not only to listen, but also to think, to organize, and to act. (IPA Service)
