India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down on Saturday following weeks of intense nationwide protests demanding his removal over alleged paper leaks in key competitive entrance examinations and wider irregularities in the country’s education system.
The minister’s departure represents the first major concession by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the face of persistent demonstrations, sit-ins, and hunger strikes spearheaded by the youth-led “Cockroach movement.”
The agitation has escalated into one of the most prominent displays of public dissatisfaction against the Modi administration in recent years. Demonstrations remained undeterred even after security forces used tear gas and batons earlier this week to disperse protesters attempting to march toward Parliament.
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