- Published
The recent youth-led protests have weakened Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "terribly", says leading activist Sonam Wangchuk whose hunger strike galvanised the movement.
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strike → publish → movement
Wangchuk told the BBC that the atmosphere in the country had changed following mass demonstrations which triggered the resignation of the education minister on 25 July.
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which → tell → July
Young people now have more confidence they can "change things if they want to" and feel they don't have to "take everything lying down", the 59-year-old said.
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old → have → everything
The "cockroach" movement mounted one of the biggest public displays of dissent against Modi's government, which has been in power since 2014.
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which → mount → 2014
The movement takes its name from a remark by India's chief justice, who drew criticism after comparing sections of unemployed young people to "cockroaches" during a court hearing.
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who → take → hearing
Wangchuk fasted in scorching heat in the capital, Delhi, for 26 days in June and July, consuming only salt and water.
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Wangchuk → fast → salt
He says he has now regained six of the 11kg he lost.
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he → say → kg
The activist was forcibly taken to hospitals which he says were "more like prisons" for the final six days of his fast.
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he → take → fast
By then, the protests had escalated from public anger about the leak of exam papers into some of the biggest anti-government demonstrations India had seen in years.
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India → escalate → years
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned the day after Wangchuk ended his hunger strike.
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Wangchuk → resign → strike
Since then, Modi has announced fast-track courts to try those accused in the leaks and appointed a tech billionaire to lead efforts to reform the examination system.
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Modi → announce → system
The government also said it would offer compensation to families of students who took their own lives after exam questions were leaked.
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questions → say → lives
But India's problems are deeper - with graduate unemployment hovering around 35-40% for the past 25 years.
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unemployment → hover → years
Wangchuk argues fundamental reform to education is needed.
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reform → argue → education
The engineer and education specialist says exams currently have little relevance to the job market.
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exams → say → market
Often based on multiple-choice questions, they are designed to assess millions of students efficiently, with no consideration of how effectively they measure skills and understanding, he says.
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he → base → skills
This, in turn, shapes how schools teach.
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schools → shape → turn
If exams placed greater emphasis on hands-on experience and aptitude, he suggests, schools might adapt their methods and help address India's jobs crisis.
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schools → place → crisis
"There needs to be some planning of what the world and the country are likely to look like in 15 years," Wangchuk says.
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Wangchuk → need → years
Changing the way children are taught might help ensure they are "not left unemployed and sectors that need people are not left underemployed".
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that → change → people
India's government has previously defended itself against criticism of its handling of the economy.
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government → defend → economy
It argues that claims of an unemployment crisis are overstated and that its macroeconomic policy remains fundamentally robust.
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policy → argue → crisis
Meanwhile, reports say many Cockroach Janta Party protesters are still facing repercussions including court cases, police harassment and social media abuse.
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protesters → say → cases
This is happening despite the Supreme Court directing authorities not to take coercive action against those protesters who are facing charges but have no prior criminal record.
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who → happen → record
But regardless of that, Wangchuk says that, "in the last few days, I think there has been good progress".
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I → say → days
Wangchuk insists change is in the air in India.
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change → insist → India
He believes the government has been hugely damaged by how long it took before Pradhan stepped down.
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Pradhan → believe → long
"This gave young people a chance to gain confidence and unity in their actions."
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This → give → actions
Wangchuk says that, if the government doesn't listen to the people, they may return to protests that go beyond education.
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that → say → education
He suggests the damage is already being felt by the governing BJP, pointing to the party losing two of three by-elections this week - including a seat in Bihar state it had held for more than 30 years.
However, he maintains that India's leaders could still change their approach.
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leaders → suggest → approach
"I always believe in people realising their mistakes and amending their ways.
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people → believe → ways
So I would give them that chance."
Twelve days have now passed since Wangchuk said he broke his fast.
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he → give → fast
He has a renewed faith in the power of hunger strikes - taking inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent resistance.
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He → have → resistance
In previous years he's held hunger strikes for more self-rule in Ladakh and against a "very powerful government" seeking to "bulldoze ecologically sensitive places".
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he → hold → places
Though he has not achieved his goals there, he says "inflicting pain on ourselves makes the government feel differently, compared to us using sticks and stones".
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us → achieve → sticks
Asked if he has any plans to run for office, he says no - he would rather enable others to do so.
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he → ask → others
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