BBC News
· collected 2026-08-06 · by Rajini Vaidyanathan, Junaid Ahmed, Phelan Chatterjee
Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk says the recent youth-led protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government have weakened him "terribly". The protests, which began with demonstrations over exam paper leaks, escalated into one of the biggest public displays of dissent against the government since 2014. According to Wangchuk, who went on a 26-day hunger strike in June and July, young people now feel confident that they can effect change. Graduate unemployment in India has been hovering around 35-40% for the past 25 years, and Wangchuk argues that fundamental reform to education is needed to address this issue.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The article uses neutral language to report on the protests and government responses, but phrases such as 'Modi's government' and 'government has been in power since 2014' suggest a slightly more critical tone towards the right-wing administration. Additionally, the use of quotes from Sonam Wangchuk highlights his perspective as an activist, which may be seen as sympathetic to the left-leaning cause.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.40 for article 580 · logged 2026-08-06
- 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
