‘Now Modi should go’: Jantar Mantar erupted in celebration after Pradhan’s resignation

Saturday was a carnival in Jantar Mantar.

A young woman hoisted on the shoulders of her partner blowing bubbles in the air. A few hundred metres away, a crowd of very energetic men dancing to the beats of a surprisingly loud toy drum. A bunch of boys taking joyrides on a barricade as a posse of Delhi Police personnel watch stone-faced while everyone else cheers and whoops. Another kid casually walking about with a speaker, playing on loop Modi’s accidentally vulgar mispronunciation of a Sanskrit sloka.

Few resignations in India’s history have sparked as much joy as was evident in and around Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan put in his papers. Since June 6, students led by the Cockroach Janta Party had demanded his resignation over question paper leaks.

Now nearly two months later, this movement – which started as a meme page – has shaken up the Modi government and seen the government fire a minister under public pressure. It was only the second time it had ever happened since 2014.

Against the odds

For strongman Modi, this defeat is bad news. The protestors at Jantar Mantar, meanwhile, are elated that they have pulled off a seemingly impossible victory.

“The past week has been so emotional,” said Simran Arora, the 24-year-old bubble gunner from the lede. “But now we will party.”

Arora tried to be magnanimous in victory. Earlier on Monday, protestors had been assaulted by Delhi Police. But now that’s water under the bridge for her. “We don’t want to demean the police but they should also celebrate,” she said. “This is good for your kids too.”

Rounaq Raj, 23, was still walking around with a poster demanding Pradhan resign. And everyone around him was so punch-drunk with joy, they ignored the anomaly and lined up for photos with him.

“I feel great,” said Raj, who protested in Patna on Wednesday against Pradhan and then promptly took a train to Delhi. “We have won.”

Raj took the opportunity to take a potshot at “godi media”, the Hindi version of lapdog media or pro-government media that has been a major issue in these protests. “Ab godi media kya bolegi?” he said with a smile. What can godi media say now?

‘Nothing will change’

However, elation sat alongside realism for many young students at the protest. They realised that the road ahead will be bumpy.

Aayush Rai, a 21-year-old from Himachal Pradesh who is in Delhi to prepare for competitive exams, was clear that this was not a “final win”. That will only happen when the education system reforms itself, he said.

His friend, who didn’t want to be identified, was more critical. “Nothing will change,” he said. “Maybe someone even more corrupt will come [in place of Pradhan].”

Until Modi takes accountability, nothing will change, he told Scroll, excitedly using a swear word to characterise the prime minister. Then he suddenly paused. “Delete that word,” he told Scroll. “If my father heard me use this language for Modi, he would not be happy since he loves the BJP.”

Abusing Modi

The protest had ostensibly been directed against Pradhan but for anyone who has actually been to Jantar Mantar, it was quite apparent that the prime minister was the crowd’s main target. Not surprisingly, anger against Modi was still prevalent even after Pradhan’s resignation.

Class X student Aakash Jaiswal argued forcefully that after Pradhan, it would be Modi who should resign. The reason, he said, is the police violence on Monday. “The police used their dandas on Modi’s orders,” he said. “Now he should go.”

The 17-year old is emblematic of the deep ditch the BJP is in with Gen Z. “When I get to vote, I’ll vote for the best party,” Jaiswal said. “But I will never vote for Modi. The man who can beat up his own students can do anything.”

The protest’s main target was paper leaks. But as Jaiswal’s strong statements made clear, the gathering reflected a much larger political trend. Slogans hailing revolution, the Constitution and Ambedkar floated through the protest along with some shockingly abusive ditties and posters targeting Modi.

The conflation of anti-Hindutva sentiment combined with such a targeted attack on the strongman image of the prime minister is why the Bharatiya Janata Party has reacted so strongly to the protests till now.

Continued fear

Aaron Hangshing, a 26-year old pursuing his PhD from Delhi University, was clear that the reason he was here was anger with the BJP. “The paper leaks for me is not personally a big issue,” he said. “For me the major issue was the way Modi government treated Manipur.”

For Hangshing, Pradhan’s resignation is not enough. “ Is it really revolutionary if all you’re doing is asking for the resignation of one minister?” he said. “Most people here want to see Modi resign.”

As he spoke, there was a sudden rush of people. It was a lathi-charge scare. Everyone relaxed when they realised there was no police attack and then laughed at their overreaction.

The students might have won today but the fear of this government certainly remains.

A number of people Scroll spoke to declined to give their names out of apprehension of police action. “Just write down my name as desh ki vasi, a resident of this country,” a young woman carrying a poster that called Modi a “fascist” told Scroll.

“No one asked questions for 12 years, we forgot to ask questions,” she said.

A 23-year-old Muslim man from a university in Delhi was clear that the protest should continue. “Otherwise corruption will continue.”

He told Scroll his name and the name of his university. But then changed his mind. “Don’t run them, please,” he said. “I don’t want any negative repercussions.”