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New Delhi: The youth’s anger over the incumbent government’s apparent indifference to deep-rooted irregularities with the national education system, that have perpetuated hardships and agony for millions of students over the last few months, is no longer constrained to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

As student delegation and the centre hold another round of talks, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) standing firm on its demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, the last two days have witnessed massive youth protests across the country.

Solidarity marches have erupted across almost all major metropolitan hubs, with the police cracking down indiscriminately on peaceful protesters.

In Maharashra, cases pile up

Protesters gathered in large numbers outside Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar, Mumbai, to raise slogans against Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Mumbai Police detained over 150 protesters and registered two new first information reports for violating the prohibitory orders on Thursday (July 23), pushing the total number of FIRs linked to the movement to 17. The FIRs have reportedly been lodged since July 18 under sections varying from unlawful assembly to breach of prohibitory orders.

Youth protests in the country’s financial capital made national and international headlines after a 27-year-old woman, Rhiya Yadav, fearlessly stood in front of a police van carrying detained protestors on July 22, obstructing its passage. An earlier report by The Wire, details her story and its implications for the movement.

Rhiya Yadav standing in front of a Mumbai Police van carrying detained protesters on July 22. Photo: Instagram/@rhiyaahir/@mishra_sohit.

As per a report by Indian Express, the Nagpur Police also detained more than 150 police on Thursday (July 23) near Samvidhan Square. Roughly 35 protesters are said to have been detained the night before for allegedly overstaying the permitted protest hours.

In Bihar, protesters dance under water canons even as they face batons

The protesters’ refusal to back down in the face of police brutality and still remaining jubilant in their resistance is a testament to the ongoing movement’s idiosyncrasy. This defiant enthusiasm portrayed by clips of students in Patna dancing under water cannons, riding barricades and mockingly demanding the security forces for tear gas that have taken over the internet.

However, student protests assumed a much more serious nature in several other parts of the state. As per The Hindu, security personnel resorted to lathi charge after protesters allegedly started........

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