{"id":825093,"date":"2026-07-25T11:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/825093\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T11:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T11:08:15","slug":"indias-education-minister-resigns-after-weeks-of-student-led-protests-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/825093\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s education minister resigns after weeks of student-led protests \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW DELHI (AP) \u2014 India\u2019s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of protests that demanded his removal over alleged leaks in some of the country\u2019s most competitive entrance exams and irregularities in the education system.<\/p>\n

Pradhan announced the decision in a post on X, handing a major victory to the \u201cCockroach\u201d movement, which has spearheaded nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes. His resignation also marks the first significant concession by Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government to one of the most visible waves of public dissent it has faced in recent years.<\/p>\n

The movement began more than a month ago after allegations of leaks in some of India\u2019s biggest entrance exams. It started as a call for education reforms but has grown into a broader protest over unemployment, government accountability and economic opportunities. Students, professionals, families and activists have joined rallies in New Delhi and other cities across India.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Student
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStudent wing activists of different political parties join in a rally demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s ongoing protest movement, in Kolkata, India, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Bikas Das)<\/p>\n

News of Pradhan\u2019s resignation sparked celebrations among the thousands of protesters who have camped at New Delhi\u2019s protest site for more than a month. Many embraced each other and waved the Indian flag.<\/p>\n

Prachi Kumar, a corporate employee who joined the protests, said Pradhan\u2019s resignation was necessary to restore accountability in the education system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis had to be done. Someone must be held accountable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n The Cockroach Janta Party, which launched the protest movement, declared victory following the resignation, writing on X: \u201cDEMOCRACY WINS!\u201d<\/p>\n

The demonstrations have become one of the most persistent challenges to Modi\u2019s government in recent years, with thousands returning to the streets even after police used tear gas and batons to disperse marchers.<\/p>\n

Tensions escalated on Monday when police moved to disperse thousands of protesters marching toward Parliament. Several students were injured in the crackdown, intensifying anger among demonstrators.<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s government had earlier sought to ease tensions by announcing fast-track courts for cases involving exam paper leaks and saying it would introduce legislation to strengthen measures against cheating and corruption in the examination system.<\/p>\n

The measures failed to satisfy protesters, who said they did not address government accountability. Although Pradhan\u2019s resignation met their main demand, the movement leaders said their campaign would continue as they sought compensation for families of students who died by suicide after alleged exam paper leaks and action against police officers they accused of using excessive force.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember, do not mess with (the) cockroach,\u201d Abhijeet Dipke, a movement leader, said in a written statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW DELHI (AP) \u2014 India\u2019s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of protests that demanded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-825093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}