Yogita Limaye
Reporting from Jantar Mantar

This isn't the first time PM Modi's government has faced big protests. And it's not the first time it's been forced into a climbdown either.

Back in 2021, the government repealed farm laws after a year-long agitation by farmers. But those earlier protests were seen to be about issues that affected specific groups or religions.

This one resonated with a large section of middle-class India, cutting across identities of religion, caste or sectors. And while it centred around the specific issue of medical entrance exam leaks, increasingly what we have seen on the ground is people voicing their anger about the lack of educational opportunities and jobs in India.

The protests have also been mostly organic - people learning about them on social media and deciding they wanted to come out too.

That is a key reason why a government that has been so confident in dealing with protests in the past seemed rattled this time.

For the first time in 12 years, Modi seemed at his wits' end, putting out videos two nights in a row hoping to reach out to India's youth.

But they seemingly fuelled the backlash further.

After the resignation, the question is, can the prime minister regain lost ground? And can he regain the trust of people who told us they used to be his supporters but were extremely disappointed with how he reacted to these protests?

Zoya Mateen

This may be remembered as a protest made up of not just marches and slogans, but also memes, reels, fit checks and jokes.

For days, young protesters documented almost every moment online. There were "get ready with me" videos before marches, memes after clashes with police, workout reels about running from baton charges and jokes made while crying when hit by tear gas.

Humour wasn't a distraction from the movement; it became one of its defining languages.

Those videos travelled far beyond the protest sites. They drew in curious onlookers, helped others follow events in real time and, in many cases, persuaded first-time protesters to join in.

Today, as crowds celebrate Pradhan's resignation at Jantar Mantar, it is worth remembering that the same internet culture many dismissed as frivolous helped carry forward one of India's biggest youth-led protest movements in years.

The placards mattered - but so did the reels.

Want to read more on this? Head here.

Image source, Zoya Mateen

...here's what has happened so far:

• Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, in a significant win for a youth-led protest movement that gathered momentum over the past month.
• The resignation follows weeks of demonstrations led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a collective that began as satire before expanding into a broader campaign for accountability and education reforms.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted Pradhan's resignation earlier on Saturday. The government has not yet announced who will replace him as minister.
• Protesters are continuing to gather at Delhi's Jantar Mantar - the main protest site - with many celebrating what they see as a major victory.
• The CJP has welcomed Pradhan's resignation but says its demands go beyond that - they have not yet announced their next steps.
• There is no clarity yet on whether the protests will end now, continue in a different form or evolve into a broader movement.
• Security remains tight around the protest site, with additional barricades and police checkpoints in place.

We'll continue bringing you the latest developments throughout the day.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) national president Nitin Nabin has said that Pradhan’s decision to step down reflects the "highest standards of integrity and selfless service in public life".

Pradhan is one of the BJP’s senior leaders and a close aide of Prime Minister Modi.

In a social media post, Nabin lauded Pradhan for playing a pivotal role in reforming India’s educational landscape.

“The party stands firmly with Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Ji in this decision.”

Image source, Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The most important thing about India's student protests is not the paper leaks.

It's what they reveal about democracy.

For years, politics has revolved around elections, identity and ideology. This movement asks a simpler question: can the state still govern competently and fairly?

Millions of young Indians see competitive exams as their only path to a better life. When that promise is broken, they are demanding not just justice but accountability.

As political scientist Yamini Aiyar puts it, they are seeking "accountability for governance in sites that are non-electoral".

That may be the movement's real legacy.

Democracies do not live by elections alone. They survive when governments are held accountable between elections too.

If the CJP protests have achieved anything, they have reminded India that democratic legitimacy comes not just from winning votes, but from governing well.

Read my story here

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Jantar Mantar

Since news of Pradhan's resignation broke, politicians from all parties have been making their way to Jantar Mantar.

As speeches are made from the stage, one slogan cuts through the celebrations.

"Just because you're in the opposition, don't smile too much," protesters scream.

"Accountability is a system now," they continue. "We'll ask you the same questions."

The line draws some of the biggest cheers I've heard all day.

For all the celebrations here, it's also a reminder that many protesters see this as something bigger than the resignation of one minister - a demand for accountability, from whoever is in power.

Azadeh Moshiri
Reporting from Jantar Mantar, Delhi

More people are making their way to Jantar Mantar as news of Pradhan's resignation spreads.

A nearby road has been closed and police have erected fresh barricades, forcing several young people to get out of their tuk-tuks and continue on foot.

When I asked a police officer why the road had been shut, he said it was "a new arrangement for law and order".

He did not link the restrictions to the protests. But we have seen security being tightened in recent days, with more barricades and checkpoints appearing around the area as the demonstrations gathered momentum.

Spokespersons of the CJP are meeting federal ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh in Delhi.

This is the third round of talks between the two sides this week and the first since Pradhan’s resignation.

Image source, ANI

The first meeting was held at Nadda’s residence on Monday. The CJP later insisted that future talks be held at a neutral venue.

The latest talks are being held about a kilometre from the protest site - in the heart of the Indian capital.

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who sat on a hunger strike for 26 days in support of the CJP, has welcomed the education minister's resignation and called it a “victory of democracy”.

In a post on X, external, he congratulated the CJP, Gen Z and all citizens "for shedding fear and the fear of fear and rising up from every corner of the nation”.

Wangchuk broke his hunger strike in the early hours of Friday.

“From accountability, now to reforms,” his post read.

Image source, Sonam Wangchuk/X

India's opposition leaders have welcomed Pradhan’s resignation, with many calling it a victory for the youth-led protest movement.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called it a “victory for the millions of our youth who took to the streets to demand an overhaul of the education system across the country”.

Veteran politician Sharad Pawar called it a “major victory for the united power of the nation’s youth”.

“This struggle - in which the youth stood firm against injustice without fear of suppression and compelled the government to accept moral responsibility - stands as a testament to the strength of democracy,” he wrote on X.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav called it a "big victory for the youth", but said it should serve as a lesson to all political parties to strengthen examination systems and prevent paper leaks in the future.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal has also called it a “big win for the democracy”.

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Jantar Mantar

I've been coming to Jantar Mantar for some days now.

For much of that time, the mood wasn't one of sadness but of nervous anticipation - conversations about what could happen next, speculation over arrests, questions about whether the movement had achieved anything at all.

Today felt different.

As I walked through the protest site, I saw nothing but happiness everywhere.

There were smiles, embraces and celebrations, but more importantly, a quiet confidence. The young protesters had managed to do something few thought possible: forced one of the most powerful governments India has seen to acknowledge their demands.

For them, this isn't just about one resignation or one political victory - it is proof that sustained public pressure can produce results.

Azadeh Moshiri
Reporting from Delhi

The minister's resignation is a rare crack in Modi’s seemingly impenetrable facade after more than 12 years in office.

Throughout the week, it became clear the government was under mounting pressure and unable to contain a growing youth movement.

Now, Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, insisting he never “turned his back” on the problems that arose from the leak of a medical entrance exam and that he wanted children to focus on their studies.

After years of frustration, high unemployment and feeling ignored by mainstream politics, young Indians have found a group that can unite them for now. The question now is where does the Cockroach Janta Party go from here, after learning of its considerable leverage: India’s youth.

Senior Indian ministers are reacting to Pradhan's resignation.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a post on X, praised Pradhan's tenure, calling his career "a testament to lifelong engagement with public life and student welfare".

He also thanked him for his "relentless service" and commitment to education reforms.

Image source, Getty Images

Dharmendra Pradhan's political story comes with a striking irony: he launched his career protesting against a question paper leak, then resigned on Saturday as education minister decades later over another.

Born into a political family in the eastern state of Odisha, 57-year-old Pradhan emerged through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, the umbrella organisation of Hindu nationalist parties. He reportedly led student protests and suffered injuries in a police baton charge during an anti-paper leak demonstration in 1997.

Although he finished third in the local university students' union election, he rose steadily through the BJP, serving as ABVP national general secretary, BJP youth chief and later as one of the party's key election strategists.

A close ally of PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister JP Nadda, he is widely credited with expanding the BJP's organisation in Odisha.

Appointed junior petroleum minister when Modi came to power in 2014, Pradhan served in the upper house from Bihar before returning to Odisha to win a lower house seat in 2024.

This is the moment the CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced news of the education minister's resignation at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

The crowd erupts into a loud cheer as he yells: 'We have done it.'

From the start of the protests seven weeks back, the CJP had said their core demand was Pradhan's resignation.

But the movement has also been demanding a complete overhaul of India's education system, with greater accountability for alleged exam paper leaks.

The protesters were angry over the cancellation of India's top medical entrance exam - the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET - UG) - after a paper leak in May.

The CJP said the minister should take moral responsibility for the leak and quit.

The CJP has also demanded 10m rupees ($103,554; £77,737) in compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who allegedly died by suicide after the paper was cancelled, and the withdrawal of all cases against all protesters.

Yogita Limaye
Reporting from Jantar Mantar

I was at the protest site shortly after the resignation was announced and the atmosphere had erupted into jubilation. People were dancing, cheering and chanting slogans.

"We have won," a woman waving an India flag said.

"The government will know now that if they don’t perform, the people will come out on the streets and ask for accountability,” a man said.

From the stage, announcements were being made that no-one should leave the protest site until the resignation was confirmed and written assurances were given.

Since coming to power in 2014, PM Modi's government has rarely brooked dissent and has usually come down heavily on protests.

It has faced challenges before and the only other instance when it backtracked was when it repealed three controversial farm laws after thousands of farmers protested for around a year.

This time, the government clearly underestimated the anger and staying power of the protesters.

After ignoring them for weeks, it was forced to take them seriously this week after a brutal police crackdown on protesters attempting to march to parliament sparked massive public anger.

But until today, it was unclear whether Pradhan - a senior government minister - would actually resign or not. For now, the protesters - many of them young and attending their first such agitation - have reason to feel triumphant.

The CJP has put out a statement by its founder Dipke on X saying the fight is not over.

He says the families of students who died by suicide after a key medical exam was cancelled must receive compensation - a demand he says the group will not drop.

Dipke also renewed calls for action against police officers he accused of using excessive force against protesters on 20 July when thousands of CJP supporters tried to march to Parliament.

"Remember, do not mess with [the] cockroach," he added.