Day 17 of my hunger strike at Jantar Mantar: It’s not just about leaks, but accountability

We are on the 17th day of our indefinite hunger strike, demanding accountability for the NEET paper leak and the crisis in India’s examination system. Several students have died by suicide in the aftermath of the NEET paper leak.

These young people were exactly like us — with dreams, ambitions and hopes for their future. They had families who loved them, friends who stood by them, and dreams they had nurtured for years. They wanted to become doctors and build a dignified life. Some dreamed of serving society through medicine; some hoped to become researchers; some wanted to bring economic mobility to their families through education. Every one of those dreams has now been shattered. Their lives cannot be reduced to a cold number in a report.

The question is: Who is responsible? The responsibility is not only for those young lives lost but also for the lakhs of students who have suffered anxiety, uncertainty and injustice because of the failure of the examination system. Can such a crisis be dismissed as merely a “technical glitch” or just another paper leak? Someone in the government must stand up and answer. Since the establishment of the National Testing Agency (NTA), hardly any major examination it conducts has escaped controversy. NEET is only the latest and, perhaps the most glaring, example. Even the recent UGC-NET examination, conducted by the same agency, faced serious questions, including issues related to its sociology paper. How can Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan escape accountability when he heads a ministry under which the credibility of several major examinations has repeatedly been questioned?

It was in June 2015 that Rajnath Singh had declared before the press, “this is not the UPA government, this is the NDA government. Here ministers do not have to resign.” Ever since then, this government has maintained this stance. But what does this declaration really imply? It cannot but be seen as an attempt by the government to place itself above any sense of political accountability or moral responsibility, which flies in the face of the most basic definition of democracy. A democratic government must be responsible and legitimate, and Dharmendra Pradhan has indeed lost moral legitimacy. The thousands thronging at Jantar Mantar every day in this heat and rain to join the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest to demand his resignation testify to that.

As I, along with acclaimed scientist Sonam Wangchuk and many fellow students, enter yet another day of our indefinite hunger strike demanding the resignation of the Education Minister, we have lost weight, and medical issues are cropping up. We continue our protest despite the scorching heat, relentless rain and suffocating humidity. The support we have received from students, parents, aspirants and intellectuals has been deeply encouraging. Two of our fellow hunger strikers had to be hospitalised due to deteriorating health, yet the movement continues.

Nothing explains the situation better than a story many of us have heard or read in childhood. It is the story of a king who is one day visited by two weavers who claim to have created magical clothes that are invisible to anyone who is foolish or unfit for their position. The king, afraid of appearing incompetent, wears these imaginary clothes before his court. Fearing the king’s anger, his ministers and courtiers praise the beauty of the invisible fabric. But when the king goes out in a public procession wearing nothing, a child finally shouts out the truth: “The king is naked!”

The students of this country have always been at the forefront of struggles for justice and democracy. From the freedom movement to the anti-Emergency movement of 1975 and several other social struggles, students have played a decisive role in shaping the nation’s history. How, then, can we remain silent when the future of an entire generation of students is in jeopardy? We will continue to use democratic means, build wider solidarity, and raise our voices until accountability is established. We are here to say what everyone already knows, but many are afraid to say: The king is naked.

The writer is All India President, All India Students’ Association