By Cedric Prakash
Ahmedabad, July 28, 2026: The Revolution has begun… On the afternoon of 25 July, the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan finally submitted his resignation.
It was a key demand of the Cockroach Janata Party and for thousands of other agitating students and youth all over the country. There were massive celebrations all over!
The protests at Jantar Mantar were called off! The resignation of the Education Minister, however, is just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg!
The Revolution has begun… But is it from the frying pan into the fire? The appointment of another hard-core RSS man, Prahlad Joshi, to succeed Pradhan is certainly no solution.
Everyone knows that! To think that this man now presides over the education and future of our youth is, for most, totally unacceptable.
The Revolution has begun… the youth protesting in Jantar Mantar and elsewhere were loud and clear.
They would never allow xenophobia, exclusivism, sectarianism or any form of bigotry to permeate their ideals, their dreams, their hopes for a better future.
They visibly and vocally demonstrated that they were first and foremost citizens of the country, students and youth. They were with one heart and one mind, transcending the confines of every religion and every strata of society.
No one could divide them and pit them against each other. With the Constitution in hand, they chanted in unison, “We are one, we shall overcome!”
The Revolution has begun… Arundhati Roy is one of the most celebrated and renowned Indian personalities today. In an article in “The Wire” entitled “‘Cockroach Democracy: Unarmed and Dangerous’”, she writes:
“For the first time in years, it feels wonderful to be Indian… a generation of desperate and furious young people who have seen their future snuffed out before their eyes was going to reclaim what their parents and grandparents’ generations had conceded: our dignity as a people and as a country. Our rights as citizens of a democracy.”
The Revolution has begun… thousands of students, youth and others have come out on the streets all over the country: in perhaps every big city and small town, in district headquarters and even in villages.
This was not a paid mob mobilisation. It was a spontaneous uprising, giving rise to their angst, their sense of outrage at what is happening to them, to the whole educational system, to the fact that twenty-one students had committed suicide because of the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) paper leakage.
It reminded one of the ‘Arab Spring’ and other popular movements where people came out in hordes everywhere in protest. Besides, several countries across the world have expressed solidarity with what is happening in India.
The Revolution has begun… in Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, the sight was unbelievable. Groups of students walking together, singing as though they were on a picnic.
There were droves of them, shouting slogans. Thousands of police and security personnel were deployed. They could do nothing.
The students/youth were not ‘in assembly’ – just walking. And can anyone stop people walking? They were walking for change! The political masters, of course, will never forget the ‘Nav Nirman’ agitation of 1974 and how a Government was overthrown!
The Revolution has begun… Indian academic and social analyst Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes that this is “the first time that the government has acknowledged the need for taking responsibility and being held accountable.”
He speaks of a generation that has been catastrophically failed by its elders but has decided to take its future into its own hands.
“By itself, the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan will not bring change. But India’s young have shown that the regime is vulnerable. We can still pull back from the abyss.”
The Revolution has begun… Rhiya Ahir courageously demonstrated the power of one: the power of youth, the power of women! On 22 July she went to the protest rally in Shivaji Park, Mumbai.
Seeing a police van packed with detained youth, she stood in front of it and would not allow it to proceed.
Following a heated exchange, the police relented and released all those they had detained. The defining pictures and videos of Rhiya preventing the police van from moving went viral!
The Revolution has begun… pro-government media has been singing the tunes of the ruling regime to no end. For several days, they did not take cognisance of events at Jantar Mantar, India’s protest square .
“The Guardian” observed that mainstream television channels initially ignored the protests and later attempted to discredit them.
In response, the protesters turned to social media to expose what they regarded as falsehoods. Interestingly, since times are changing, godified media, like a chameleon, is also changing colours.
The Revolution has begun… the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march to Parliament on July 20 was proof enough of this fact.
Hundreds of thousands from all walks of life began this historic march. There was panic among the ruling regime. Thousands of marchers were baton-charged, beaten and many had to be hospitalised.
This ensured a groundswell of protests all over the country. On 27 July, the Supreme Court said, “The right to peaceful, lawful protest [is] absolutely guaranteed under the Constitution.”
The Revolution has begun… The Jantar Mantar protest was about reclaiming shrinking democratic space in the country. The right to dissent is back on the big canvas. People are out on the streets.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan noted that public space for expressing divergent opinion is shrinking in India and stressed that debate and dissent are the essence of democracy. The last thirty-five days are changing things!
The Revolution has begun… against corruption. The youth are not going to take things lying down anymore.
Not only corruption in education, but corruption which has permeated every strata of society. There is a lack of accountability and transparency.
Much has to be addressed. More questions will be asked. What about crony capitalist friends who profiteer at the cost of the poor and by looting the country? What about electoral malpractices and the disenfranchisement of legitimate citizens everywhere?
The Revolution has begun… In a strongly worded statement on 27 July, the Cockroach Janata Party condemned the arrests and harassment of protesters and demanded the withdrawal of all cases against them. Yes, the protests are not a flash-in-the-pan!
One has had enough of references to the past: from the French Revolution to the Quit India Movement! The Revolution has begun indeed… and there is no looking back!
(Jesuit Cedric Prakash is a renowned human rights, reconciliation, and peace activist trainer and writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com)