what happened to the quote by Lincoln we used to learn in our schools which said "the government is of the people, by the people, for the people"? the government got the police force to point guns at the protesters, used tear gases, led lathi (baton) charges against the protesters and assaulted Sonam Wangchuk's wife. "India has the largest democracy in the world" 😹😹 a movement led by the largest age democratic in the nation for educational reforms and the demand for accountability is not given the upmost importance and they want us to think that people's voice matter.
democracy is dead in this country.
media is dead in this country.
the politicians the people elected to represent them and be the servants of the people and the nation think they're above everybody else.
Okay so an actual long context post containing almost everything I personally know regarding the protest. Please read this! Even if you are not Indian, awareness will never do you harm. It is about the rights of millions of students including me.
Okay so the protest arised from two different events that occurred parallel to each other.
The first one where a CJI (chief justice of India) Suryakant made a jab towards the youth, calling us unemployed cockroaches and parasites, who do protest because they do not have anything else to do. This rightfully resulted in an uproar of people calling him out.
And a major result was the formation of COCKROACH JANTA PARTY or CJP, a parody instagram account named after the current ruling party- "Bhartiya Janta Party" (BJP), tranlated to "indian people party", this parody account changed "indian" to "cockroach".
But after a few days, this meme converted into tangible actions by the youth, people cleaned rivers dressed as cockroaches to show their displeasure towards the statement. Then soon enough, the cjp account started to post about actual concerns of education, corruption and sometimes feminism. (Please know that I do not condone everything done by them, especially their prolific use of gen AI)
Then, the 2nd thing happened that changed the trajectory of this movement. NEET 2026 was also leaked, making this the third year of continuous paper leaks.
Context about NEET: This is one of the biggest exam in India, it is the only exam you can give to become a doctor, there is no substitute to it. And millions of students prepare for this exam with all their might (including me).
But the leak shattered people's hopes once again. And it happened in such a mass scale, that the exam had to be canceled and held again.
However, this harmed the students beyond repair and we lost 20 of us to suicide. Just because the government officials sold the paper for some money. They sold the future of the country for their bank accounts.
Now, after the leak, CJP (the movement) made a lot of posts about the rights of students and accountability from the Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, whi had not acknowledged the suicides at all.
Then, CJP along with a lot of students, parents and just people in general went on a protest in Jantar Mantar (in the country's capital, Delhi). Their demands were simple. Accountability for the neet paper leak. That's it.
And one of our renowned scientist Sir Sonam Wangchuk also came to Delhi to join the protest. However, as usual the government completely ignored the protest and no major media channel covered it. (The same thing has been happening to one of our states, Manipur, where people's pleas have been ignored by the media and government for the past three years)
Sonam sir decided to go on a hunger strike just so the government fulfills the students demands.
The demands were— 1. Resignation of the Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, who had proven himself incompetent for the job.
2. Compensation of 1 crore rupees to the family of deceased.
3. Equal opportunity and attention to ladakh.
(If I missed any, PLEASE let me know. I'm writing this from my memory).
But to again, no one's surprise BJP completely ignored the protest, Sonam Sir is a very renowned scientist and has done so much for our country, yet the government ignored this hunger strike. FOR 20 DAYS! for 20 days he sat there, without any food just asking for acknowledgement which he didn't get.
This blatant brushing over the protest, outraged the public more. Finally raising the question of what is Democracy. And the notion of an accountable government. And on 18th july, on 20th day of his hunger strike that got zero attention from the press and the government, Sonam Sir was abducted by the Delhi police at around six am.
The police used inappropriate language towards his, forcibly taking him to a hospital, without his or his wife's consent. Mind you this is a 59 year old man who has been starving from 20 days.
This happened mere 2 days before a mass march calles "sansad chalo" (a march to the parliament asking for accountability) was supposed to happen.
He has not been released from the hospital, even after him and his wife had asked for a discharge. They are keeping him without his consent.
However, the march on 20th july did take place. It was a very very peaceful protest where children of all ages, senior citizens, youth, women, were taking a part. There was no signs of violence by the protesters. But then, the protesters were violently attacked by multiple set of armed forces, they were beaten with sticks that had nails potruding from them, threatened with guns and they threw TEAR GAS at them, AGAIN THERE WERE BABIES IN THE PROTEST. EVERYONE WAS UNARMED.
The metro were shut down, internet was taken down and the assembly at the parliament was adjourned early.
YET THERE HAD BEEN NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE DEMANDS.
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS SHOWING THIS PROTEST AS A TERRORIST ACTIVITY.
They are calling students who are asking for their rights TERRORISTS.
Am I a terrorist just because I want to live in a fair and just country? Do terrorist go on peaceful protest asking for the rights of students? Do they?
Remember even after all this the Education Minister has not responded, he had not spoken about the suicides. And our prime minister also has stayed quiet.
Why are political parties allowed to do rallies for their promotion but students cant go on peaceful protest asking for answers? What kind of democracy is this.
Remember. DEMOCRACY IS THE RULE OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE.
If there is anything to add and/or correct. Please do not hesitate to do so.
India, where the form of success looks like who can leave the country behind. India, which, despite having the youngest and most talented minds in the world, does not know what to do with them. India, where the competitive exams are more exclusionary than inclusive. India, where everyone tries to reach the 1% to top the exams. India, where parents and students believe that they can reach that 1% if they work hard enough and failure is individual failure; they weren't working hard enough. India, where the children lost their lives chasing a dream they were denied. India, where it took so many deaths to even raise a finger at the failed system. India, where accountability is never taken. India, where the political theater of a hunger strike couldn't work because the other side lacks basic empathy. India, where the ones who question the system are forcefully silenced. The one fasting is forcefully detained. India, where children are getting their future stolen.
Why is the opposition showing up to a hunger strike protest against the government is "making it political", "diverting from the issue", "unnecessarily politicising it", "wrong", "anti national", "I won't support it because the opposition parties like Congress started showing up in a students protest"?
LIKE??? THAT'S LITERALLY THE JOB OF THE OPPOSITION. Their whole job is to keep the government accountable, to act as a check to their power. What will the opposition do, if not holding up a mirror to the government's shortcomings? That's literally why an opposition exists in a democracy. Why are you treating this like a flaw instead of a feature? This is Democracy 101 why do I even have to explain this?? If you want the opposition to be suddenly invisible from all issues affecting the country that the government doesn't agree with, you might as well be living in a dictatorship.
Aww, poor BJP supporters. No one understands what they’re going through. Apparently, they also want Dharmendra Pradhan to resign, but they aren’t brave enough to speak up to their masters. Instead, they go against those who do speak up to the government, just to hide their own cowardice. They are too scared to criticise the government, so they instead scrutinise those who do. Please be gentle with them, because for them, everyone who doesn’t sing praises for Modi and Dhurandhar is a godforsaken anti-national. They can’t yet comprehend the relations between different issues, so they are stuck on the childish notion that a protest for paper leaks should only focus on paper leaks. How dare we bring up other issues that affect us and are related to it? How dare we bring up privatisation and marginalisation? How dare we accept help from parties that support students and Sonam Wangchuk? How dare we politicise a totally political issue? BJP always deals with every issue without politics, doesn’t it? Don’t you realise all this makes sanghis feel lonely and misunderstood? But first and foremost, why are we even focusing on unnecessary issues like corruption in the Indian education system, or rather, the education industry? We must first focus on Important Things, like garlanding rapists, changing street names, trying to forcibly end reservations in a country riddled with caste, selling every last forest to Adani, making laser eyes edits, defeating Pakistan in comments sections, and asking that actor why they didn’t praise Dhurandhar. It’s time to self-introspect, comrades.
It doesn't matter if you agree with someone's reason for a protest, in a democratic country everyone has a right to protest. You can hate CJP and Sonam wangchuk and you can very well believe that whatever they were doing was for their own gain but you can't believe what happened today was anywhere close to what is acceptable in a democratic country. The police can't just barge in and remove Sonam wangchuk from the protesting site. The High Court can't order for the forceful removal of protestors. The police can't not show the order before removing people from the site. It would be a shame if the High Court ordered the protestors to break their protest first before directing any order towards the government. It doesn't matter what your views were on the protest or the people protesting, you can't be okay with what happened today and call this country a democracy and Vishwaguru. This is tyranny.
Remember when i said after they passed the Transgender Amendment Bill, they would come for your rights next?
It was a peaceful protest. Students (mind you, TEENAGERS) were purposefully locked inside jantar mantar. They did not panic. The police launched tear gas, beat them with lathis, and AK-47s at students with books and flowers in their hands. For people who have been living under a rock, or who live outside India, do you know what this protest was against?
Over an exam leak. Over a national exam leak which caused 2.2 million students to retake the test. At least 12 students commited suicide. And instead of taking responsibility?
everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.
NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.
there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.
sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.
because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.
and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced
On 20th of July 2026, India witnessed one of the biggest protests in the past decade. Millions of students came together to protest for the resignation of the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
The education ministry has failed the students time and time again. This year's question paper of one of the biggest exams in the entire nation, NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), which is conducted for students who wish to pursue medical studies from renowned institution across the country were leaked. This led to National Testing Agency announcing a re-test which led to the suicide of 20 students due to immense stress and anxiety.
Led by Mr. Abhijeet Dipke, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), launched a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar, located in Central Delhi on 6th of June 2026. It gained momentum and significance when a renowned scientist, engineer and environmental activist Mr. Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest and went on a hunger strike on 28th of June 2026. On the 20th day of his hunger strike, he was forcibly taken to the police station and detained.
The CJP then launched a parliament march on 20th of July 2026.
The demands were simple:
1) Resignation of the Union Education Minister
2) Compensation of ₹ 1 Crore (≈$ 1,03,803.90) to the parents that lost their children
3) Release of Mr. Wangchuk and all the other protesters that were detained
Millions of students and non-students, which included social media influencers, normal people, kids and the parents of the students who lost their lives, gathered to express their support. But the Union wasn't very pleased by it.
Section 163 under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was imposed ahead of the march. It explicitly prohibited any gathering of 5 or more individuals. What started as a peaceful protest, soon turned violent when the people that gathered were beaten by the Delhi Police. Many were injured. Women who showed up, including little girls, were groped by the male police officers, some had their clothes ripped and some were even given rape threats. Female police officers weren't any better. They too were stripping clothes of the female protesters and telling them to have shame. Ironic. Expired tear gas shells were thrown which could've led to life-threatening events.
However, the worst part was that none of these police officers wore uniforms with their names on it. CCTV cameras were disabled and so was the internet, leaving people stranded and helpless. The bare minimum of basic human right was stripped away from the hands of the protesters.
People were hospitalised, many with wounds and some with concerning head injuries. Little kids that showed up were also beaten while their parents begged the police to spare them.
This is what happened on 20th, 21st is a whole another story.
I am not asking for anyone's support. The reason why I made this post is because I know my immediate circle on tumblr is diverse and I wish to use it to spread this news to people beyond borders.
I am actually furious right now, and my blood is absolutely boiling. I just heard someone talk about Sonam Wangchuk, and the sheer, unadulterated ignorance that came out of her mouth left me stunned. She literally said, "Iska sahi hai, weight loss bhi ho gaya and famous bhi."
Are you actually kidding me? The level of privilege, stupidity, and disconnect required to reduce a man's agonizing, life-threatening sacrifice to a "weight loss trend" and "clout-chasing" is mind-boggling.
Let's get one thing straight:
Sonam Wangchuk had **absolutely zero need** to go through that kind of intense physical pain just to get famous. He was already a household name and a highly celebrated global figure decades before this.
For the uneducated and the willfully ignorant, let me spell out exactly who he is:
A Visionary Engineer & Educator: He is the man who revolutionized education in Ladakh through SECMOL (Student's Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh), giving a future to thousands of students who were failed by a rigid system.
The Global icon :He won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award also called Asia's Nobel Prize and the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. His life and innovations literally inspired the character of 'Phunsukh Wangdu' in the movie 3 Idiots. He didn't need a hunger strike for fame; he already had it globally.
An Eco-Pioneer: He invented the Ice Stupa; artificial glaciers that store winter water to solve the massive water crisis for Ladakhi farmers in the spring.
He didn't do any of this for likes, views, or a slim waistline. He did it because he loves his homeland.
And what did he sacrifice? He put his own body on the line. He went on a grueling climate fast, today literally marks the 19th day, surviving only on water and salt. He literally pushed his internal organs to the brink of failure. He willingly chose to suffer immense physical trauma, not for himself, but to protect the fragile ecology of Ladakh, safeguard its indigenous culture, and demand the constitutional rights promised to his people under the Sixth Schedule.
To look at a man starving himself to death for his country and his people, and to dismiss it as a "clout-chasing diet plan," is disgusting.
If you are too lazy or too entitled to do a simple, five-second Google search to understand the gravity of a situation, do the rest of the world a favor: shut up. If you can't stand up for a cause, the absolute bare minimum you can do is show some basic human decency and respect for the people who actually have the courage to do so.
These celebrities and influencers are terribly silent and utterly spineless for people who have built their careers on patriotic films.
I get it now. The youngsters for whom u refuse to take a stand are just here to fill your theatres and your own pockets.
Guys I dont care what your political standing is. I dont care whether you support bjp or congress but you cant deny that the government is utterly shameless for letting a man like Sonam Wangchuk starve himself just to have a dialogue with those in power. This man is literally fighting for something that is going to affect lakhs and lakhs of students across the country. And he doesnt even need to do it. But he is still out on the streets fighting for justice and our rights
You could hate CJP with everything that you have but dont let that hate blind you from the fact that a scientist, an innovator, the recipient of Ramon Magsaysay award is doing everything he can to reform the education system, to make the lives of students better.
Coming back to those 'heroes' who have done everything to sell patriotism on screen....where does it disappear when it comes to taking a public stand for your own country? You guys did not feel the problem when making a film based on Sonam Wangchuk's life. Then why are they silent now??? I could name so many celebrities rn - Akshay kumar( bhaisahab herogiri jaise fufu karne mai nahi hai vaise chup rehne mai bhi nahi hai), Aamir khan( ab samaja chatur chatur kyu tha - to all those ppl who are saying omi vaidya is an american citizen so he does not have anything to lose - bhai chup baitho..atleast he had the guts to speak up ) alia bhatt, varun dhawan, sachin tendulkar, katrina kaif, vicky kaushal, shah rukh khan and i could name so much more ????
If i have learned anything from all this, its that i am never trusting any celebrity...ek hi wish hai... ek din inke koi public event and film promotion mai jake inko sawaal puchke aukat dikha ke ana hai bhai vapas.
Yes, of course, ask for all of the accountability from CJP, ask Sonam Wangchuk why he didn't choose the perfect platform and the perfect party to stage his protest, ask why a protest for NEET paper leaks dares to hold conversations about the privatisations and monopolisations under a handful of business families because of course every single issue exists in a vacuum, scrutinise every single person that arrives at the protest to show their solidarity, analyse the ulterior motives of Abhijeet Dipke, question why opposition leaders are showing up for the protest when the literal job of the opposition of any democracy is to hold a mirror to government's failures, extend your support to a protest against a government failure on the condition that only totally politically neutral people attend it with no ideological affiliations at all so that the movement remains "pure"
If even half of this energy had been spent in holding the government accountable, you know, the ones with the actual power to do anything, we would not be needing this protest in the first place
please read this even if you're not indian. especially if you're not indian.
you've seen the jokes. india is "dirty", indians are "everywhere", why don't they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what's happening right now while nobody's watching.
first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik's research estimates around $45 trillion in today's money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every "why is india like this" question starts there. you don't get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.
now, what's happening RIGHT NOW:
in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that's the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families' savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.
and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they've been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.
and then there's sonam wangchuk. if you've watched 3 idiots, he's the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he's 59 and he's been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him "anti national" and "foreign funded". a man starving himself for other people's children. that's the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.
it's not one incident, it's everywhere you look:
• infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.
• youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.
• only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.
• manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.
• journalists raided. critics' houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.
• even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.
and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.
what i'm asking:
if you're not indian: share this. our media mostly won't cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk's fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.
if you ARE indian: speak up even if you're comfortable. especially if you're comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.
india is not "dirty". india was robbed, and it's being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it's also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers' kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.
we can still save her. but only loudly.
reblog. share. don't scroll past.
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