Forty-nine days after Indian teenagers and young adults in their 20s, known as Generation Z, gathered to found the "Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)" and took to the streets,
they finally forced the education minister to step down.
In May, when a medical school entrance exam taken by 2.2 million people was leaked in advance, they took to the streets in anger over poor management and compromised fairness.
At the time, the education minister pulled out a "re-exam" card to cover up the issue, and under the pressure of having to take the test all over again, at least 10 test-takers took their own lives.
Prior to this, the Chief Justice of India publicly insulted unemployed young people by comparing them to "cockroaches."
In response, they began calling themselves "cockroaches" and took to the streets wearing cockroach masks.
Starting as an online satire, the movement quickly surpassed 20 million followers.
The government blocked internet access in some regions and even issued a ban on gatherings of five or more people, but the protests only grew fiercer.
In particular, when social activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was staging a hunger strike, was forcibly hospitalized on the 18th, the protesters erupted.
On the 20th, the day the Indian parliament opened, about 10,000 people gathered and headed toward the parliament.
The scale of the protests grew larger, spreading beyond the capital New Delhi to various states in eastern and southern India.
In the end, the government backed down.
On the 25th local time, Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced via social media that he had submitted his resignation to the prime minister.
Minister Pradhan explained the reason for stepping down, saying, "I respect the aspirations and dreams of the young people."
A heavyweight figure who was a core member of Prime Minister Modi's administration and even mentioned as the next ruling party leader has stepped down in the face of youth demands.
The government also accepted most of the protesters' core demands, including a complete overhaul of medical school exams, punishment of those involved in corruption, dropping lawsuits against participating students, and compensating the bereaved families of deceased test-takers.
When the news broke, thousands of protesters gathered in a downtown square in New Delhi and cheered.
They shared candies with one another to celebrate their victory, and the 30-year-old founder declared, "We did it."
This is the first time the Modi administration, which came to power in 2014, has dismissed a key figure under pressure from public opinion.
Some analyze that behind this are examples from neighboring countries.
In recent years, youth protests have successively toppled governments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, and the Modi government is said to have backed down quickly, conscious of this.
Reported by Yeo Hyeon-gyo | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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