Protests are awakenings. Whether for those who acknowledge the folly of their previous actions or those who think they are apolitical or even those who always thought that the state only targets troublesome people on the margins of society.

There are many protests happening across India, but the one that has caught the imagination of millions of young people still in their teens or early 20s is the ongoing protest against the NEET exam paper leaks.

With the farmers moving in on Delhi and the prime minister admitting paper leaks are a ‘grave sin’ while also suggesting that protestors are on ‘the wrong path’, the ingredients for a larger movement exist: a widespread grievance (paper leak), no redress (demand for accountability), a common goal (resignation of the minister concerned), a catalyst (Sonam Wangchuk’s fast and his forced eviction from the protest site), mobilisation (thousands of supporters from across the social and political spectrum) and a spark to reignite a wider protest (the State’s crackdown).

It is crucial to understand that the NEET paper leaks or the CBSE evaluation scandal are not isolated problems but manifestations of a broken system. Even if education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, the families of those who died by suicide are compensated and politicians address these issues in Parliament, it will at best be cathartic; it won’t fix the system.

What the youth — they are not ‘children’, by the way — must realise is that they can ride this moment to ask for more, they can act as interlocutors of other protests happening across the country.

Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal…

Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal…

The still simmering labour unrest in the NCR

The still simmering labour unrest in the NCR

ASHA workers and labour unions in Haryana

ASHA workers and labour unions in Haryana

Tribal women (and men) in Madhya Pradesh resisting the Ken-Betwa river linking project

Tribal women (and men) in Madhya Pradesh resisting the Ken-Betwa river linking project

Chipko 2.0 against the proposed felling of 4,000 trees in........

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