"The Cricket Party" Succeeds in Overthrowing the Indian Education Minister

Hundreds of protesters gathered in a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, amid a heavy security presence, vowing not to leave until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, citing what they described as the failure of India’s examination system.

These protests represent one of the most significant public challenges faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government since he took office in 2014. Nevertheless, neither of his recent video messages addressed Pradhan’s future.

Earlier, supporters of the youth-led Cockroach Movement in India announced their intention to continue their protests in New Delhi and refused to leave their sit-in site, a day after police used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of demonstrators attempting to march toward Parliament.

Abhijit Debky, founder of the Cockroach Party, which was established just two months ago, said, “We will continue our protest.”

The movement, which emerged last May, has garnered support from millions on social media platforms.

Police reported that at least 178 people were injured in clashes between protesters and security forces in New Delhi on Monday.

More than 118 security personnel were also injured in confrontations with protesters.

As student protests spread across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned to interactive “Reels” videos on Meta Platforms’ Instagram app, replacing the cinematic-style videos that have characterized his communications with self-recorded video messages aimed at the country’s youth.

According to Bloomberg News on Saturday, the 75-year-old Modi posted two personal “Reels” (selfie-style videos) on Instagram on two consecutive days.

In the first video, posted on Thursday evening, Modi described the leak of question papers from the NEET exam (India’s medical college entrance test) as “extremely painful” for students and parents, vowing that there would be “no tolerance for those who try to harm the future of our youth.”

A day later, Modi released another “Reel,” thanking young people for engaging with his post, as students prepared to organize nationwide demonstrations demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.