India: Tear gas fired at protesters denouncing exam fraud

Indian police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse thousands of protesters marching towards Parliament in New Delhi to denounce alleged cheating in university exams and demand the resignation of the education minister.

Deployed in large numbers, law enforcement fired tear gas at the protesters, mainly young students, and charged them with batons near the esplanade of the capital where they were gathered, an AFP journalist observed.

Gathered at the call of the "Cockroach People's Party", a recently created online movement, the protesters, who are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, whom they hold responsible for the irregularities that marred the exams, wanted to reach the Federal Parliament, whose summer session began on Monday.

"We want the government to hear us, not silence us," one of the protesters, 19-year-old KM Gulshan, told AFP.

Delhi police had indicated as early as Sunday that the march was illegal and deployed significant resources to protect Parliament and public buildings.

"Anyone who violates this ban is liable to criminal prosecution," she reminded on social media.

Very early on Monday, thousands of protesters began to flock to the rally site, braving the rain and police barricades.

- "For what?" -

"Are we in a war zone? Why is the police using tear gas against peaceful protesters?" denounced the "Cockroach People's Party" on X, whose initials CJP mimic those of the Indian Nationalist Party (BJP) of Hindu ultranationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Your government initially ignored this mobilization for a month and now that we are marching peacefully, it is attacking us. Why?" he added.

From the moment the parliamentary session opened, the leader of the opposition in the upper house of Parliament, Mallikarjun Kharge, denounced the use of force by the police to disperse the protesters.

"The government is trying to use force to silence them," he lamented from the podium. "This concerns the future of hundreds of thousands of our children."

Mr. Modi, who spoke before the start of the session, made no mention of this demonstration.

Launched in May by an Indian student who recently graduated in the United States, the "cockroach" party is trying to unite the anger that is simmering in India against the failures and scandals that regularly affect higher education exams.

In May, a fraud scandal led to the invalidation of an exam taken by more than two million aspiring medical students. According to local media, this cancellation resulted in the suicide of several candidates.

- "Listen to young people" -

The "cockroaches" have multiplied their gatherings in recent weeks in many cities across the country and attracted many young people who are no longer satisfied with not finding a job after leaving university, despite the country's strong economic growth.

"Narendra Modi has so far not shown much concern for the country's youth," lamented 16-year-old protester Shubhi Rao on Monday, who came to protest with five friends.

"Our country deserves a government that cares about what young people have to say and is willing to correct its mistakes," added another, 18-year-old Sumit Kumar, hoping that his presence would "contribute to change."

The "cockroach" movement was joined from its inception by a figure from Indian civil society, Sonam Wangchuk, who began a hunger strike on June 28 to support its demands.

Released in March after six months in detention for demonstrating for the autonomy of the Himalayan region of Ladakh, Mr. Wangchuk, 59, was forcibly hospitalized on Saturday by the police as his health condition caused increasing concern.

His wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, denounced it as an "illegal detention".

In response, the founder of the "cockroaches", Abhijeet Dipke, announced that he was also beginning an "unlimited hunger strike".