Modi cedes ground and activist ends hunger strike, but India-wide ‘cockroach’ protests roll on

To Singh, “there’s the people of the country on one side and the (education) minister on the other.”

“Why can’t the prime minister just sack him?”

The Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi has seen bouts of unrest and violence during the week.

Crowds spilt out on streets outside Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, triggering late-night clashes with police.

On Monday, protests snowballed after police fired tear gas and baton-charged demonstrators as they tried to march to parliament.

Human Rights Watch in a statement on Thursday urged the government to investigate “unnecessary and excessive use of force, allow peaceful protests, and stop suspending mobile internet services, which put people at added risk”.

At Jantar Mantar, content creator Kaushal Malik said he had joined the demonstrations despite his family’s concerns.

“My parents support the cause but don’t want me to be here because they are afraid for my safety,” Malik, 22, said.

“They’ve asked me to be careful and not go too close to police. They’ve been calling and checking on me, and are scared just like any other Indian family.”

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Wangchuk ends hunger strike

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The protest movement has been backed by opposition parties who have been disrupting parliament proceedings and demanding an apology from Modi over Monday’s police action.

“You are the one who has harmed the future of our youth the most,” Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party said on X on Thursday, referring to Modi.

“You allowed and encouraged the total capture and destruction of our education system — and protected every person responsible for it.”

Engineering student Kunal Suryavanshi, who travelled to the New Delhi protest from his town in Madhya Pradesh state, said he had “come to be part of something that will hopefully lead to change”.

“All I have brought with me is hope,” the 17-year-old told AFP.

In a separate development, prominent activist from India-administered Kashmir’s Ladakh region, Sonam Wangchuk, who began a hunger strike on June 28 in support of the protesters, announced after midnight that he had ended his fast after “long negotiations on various conditions” and to avert “possible violence in the country.”

He said he would describe the conditions in a separate video.

In neighbouring Bangladesh — where youth-led protests in 2024 toppled the government of Sheikh Hasina — dozens of students held a “torch rally” on Thursday evening to express their solidarity with protesters in Delhi.

“We want to express our full support for the students protesting against the commercialization of education, corruption and question paper leaks,” Rafiquzzaman Farid, coordinator of a student activist group, told AFP.