Let this be a beginning

Hard work of repairing our education and our democracy lies ahead

Alok Tiwari

It is difficult to be equanimous and write about events of last week. People, especially young people, rising against an authoritarian regime is always moving. When they succeed, which is rarer, it is even more so. Hence there is no belittling the importance of what India’s youngsters accomplished last week. The protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi that culminated into resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan struck a blow not just for reforming India’s corruption-ridden and moribund education sector but also for its democracy.

True, NEET paper leak provided the immediate spark, but what the fed the fire was multiple frustrations of people with governance. When the adults in the room—the politicians, the bureaucrats, the judges, the media—began to see dysfunction as business as usual, it was left to the youth to jolt them. That is why it found resonance across the country. That is why people who had nothing to do with NEET or any examination were spontaneously drawn to it. Images of Mumbai model Rhiya Ahir stopping a police van with her hand and a youth calmly inviting cops to hit him more will remain etched in memory.

It felt like a sin to stay away. Ordinary folks wanted to do something, anything to be part of it. Hundreds ordering meals and water bottles for protesters was just one such act. The outpouring of support reached a crescendo on social media too until the government was rattled. It tried the usual intimidation. It did not work. Prime Minister Narendra Modi began putting out reels to address concerns about exams but only ended up becoming the butt of memes. It was no longer about fixing one exam; it was about making government listen to the voices on the ground, something many governments often forget with time.

Let us not be under an illusion that Pradhan’s resignation will change anything, especially in education sector. His successor is equally dyed in the wool swayamsewak and is likely to do many of the same things. Besides, maladies of education sector are much more serious and have been around much longer than the present government. They will not be fixed with a change in minister or even of the government. Pradhan’s departure was necessary to reinstate a sense of accountability. People in power needed to remember there is a political price to pay when things go wrong. Far from being an end, it should be seen as a starting point of reforms.

Though India’s education spending has grown over the years, as a percentage of GDP it has remained constant at around 4%, which is the bare minimum a decent nation is expected to do. If one were to go by more accommodative definitions and consider private spending (Eg on coaching classes), even then it barely touches 6%. But even these figures hide a much grimmer reality. The spend per capita is abysmal.

While a country like Finland spends about Rs 9 lakh per student per year, India gets by with about Rs 60,000. This is statistical average. Given the huge internal disparity, the spend on less privileged student is far less. It is also not about money alone. Our schools and colleges lack both, academic rigour as well as freedom. Let us not even begin to talk about integrity, the absence of which leads to paper leaks. Those cannot come just by building more universities and colleges, though doing that is necessary. It demands a change in culture that no government has shown an inclination for. If anything, the present one has concentrated on turning screws on the institutions even tighter and make them more regressive.

For these reasons, a change in minister does not bring much hope. This is not to say government cannot do anything. It is a question of priority. Modi government prioritised physical infrastructure—highways, ports, airports—and made a visible difference there. Will the cockroach movement make it prioritise education now? No one should hold their breath. Because of government’s Sangh heritage, it is difficult to see it allowing any degree of academic freedom in the country. It could at the very least insist on academic rigour and excellence. Let our universities have the means to carry out some meaningful research. Let the degrees mean something. Even if that happens, it will be progress.

Finally, a point that concerns our democracy. One can understand certain amount of gloating on part of agitators when an agitation is successful and disappointment on part of government supporters that it had to concede ground. Both need to apply brakes. There are already reports of many BJP governments going after protesters quite against the assurances of central government. The government, more importantly the BJP and its more radicalized supporters, should stop seeing this as a setback or defeat. It is not. A government listening to its own people is not a defeat, it is a beautiful thing. It is what democratic governments do. Protesters are not enemies. They are people with grievances. They deserve an ear, not batons.

Government needs to realize it needs better communications, not surveillance, to know more about citizens. It needs to learn that citizens value their freedom. They want to be able to voice their disagreements. A good part of the popular anger on display was because citizens are feeling less free. They see their vote has little meaning. Their representatives change colours through bribe or fear. Now even right to vote is threatened. They see dissent invites government or vigilante intimidation. The proverbial midnight knock on the door is very real.

Every politician and party wishes to be in power for ever. That can be done by suppressing popular anger. Or by being genuinely popular. If last week’s developments help clarify that for the government, they would leave a more lasting imprint on history.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on July 30, 2026