Jharkhand students defy police barricades in protest over exam integrity
Riot police deployed water cannons and surveillance drones as protesters in Ranchi escalated demonstrations over alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations, marking the latest escalation in a dispute that began late last month.
Students in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, marched towards the state Legislative Assembly on Monday to protest alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations, including test question leaks. Riot police deployed water cannons and multitiered barbed-wire barricades to disrupt the demonstration, while surveillance drones were deployed to monitor the crowd. The protest marks the latest escalation in a series of demonstrations that began late last month following repeated rounds of talks between student representatives and the state government that failed to resolve the dispute.
Security forces fired water cannons as protesters began climbing over barricades near Jagannath Mandir, located approximately 3km from the assembly complex. At least six protesters, including student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, are on an indefinite hunger strike. Mahto, 33, joined the front line of the march on a stretcher after fasting for nine days. Speaking to the crowd, Mahto stated that despite being on hunger strike, the barbed wires would not stop the demonstrators.
The Jharkhand state government agreed late on Sunday to cancel the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission preliminary exam and two backlog recruitment tests. Additionally, three JPSC board members submitted their resignations after being questioned by state investigators. However, student groups have indicated that protests will continue until the government cancels the Combined Graduate Level examination and hands over the investigation into exam paper leaks to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The unrest in Jharkhand follows the youth-led “cockroach” movement in New Delhi, which forced the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over leaks of the national medical school entrance test. The New Delhi protests, organised by the online movement calling itself the Cockroach Janta Party, lasted for 36 days before Pradhan stepped down. The Jharkhand demonstrations are demanding an overhaul of the state’s examination system, the cancellation of specific tests, and an investigation by federal police.
Hundreds of police guarded the assembly behind the barricades as the demonstration proceeded. While the state government has made concessions regarding specific recruitment tests, the core demands for a federal investigation and a broader systemic review remain unmet, sustaining the momentum of the student-led movement.
