INDIA’S incensed youth on the streets has caught Prime Minister Narendra Modi off guard, and become the first real test for his 12-year rule. Sparked by regular paper leak scandals that led to suicides, the movement guided by the Cockroach Janta Party began with students. A month later, it has cut across social and religious lines to include all those enraged by administrative, educational and economic failures — reportedly, the unemployment rate for graduates who are under 25 years of age is a whopping 40 per cent. The streets now ring out loud with demands for a complete change.

Students have been roughing it out for over a month at Jantar Mantar, a famous protest site in the heart of Delhi. They came together to ask for the education minister’s resignation, academic reforms, accountability and compensation for the 21 families who lost their beloved children. But Modi government’s huge miscalculation changed an otherwise serene picture. First, on the 21st day of his hunger strike, educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken away from the site and deposited at a hospital. Then, as protesters marched peacefully towards parliament, police unleashed unspeakable........

© Dawn