It was that the establishment can no longer take the educated youth of the country for granted. Curiously, however, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's belated response, at an event in Parliament House on Tuesday, gave no solace to the protesting students. He skirted their demands and beat around the bush. This is a serious provocation. Students deserve a better deal.
Notably, however, while leaders of the movement were detained and its popular face, Sonam Wangchuk, forcibly shifted to a hospital also to thwart his participation in the march, the empire failed to strike back. It was rather on the defensive. A mild lathi-charge it made was only for effect and to save its blurred face. The discomfiture of the Modi government was all too evident. Note that it closed the Metro Stations in central Delhi for hours to thwart large-scale presence of youths in the Sansad Chalo March. Modi's statement now is that it's the "responsibility of the nation" to conduct tests like NEET in an error-free manner. Yet, it exposed his government's ineptitude leading to the leakage of test papers, cancellation of the test and resultant suicide of at least 20 students. It needs reassertion that these students, like millions more across states, were unable to bear the trauma of an abrupt cancellation of the exam for which they had mentally prepared for years. Meanwhile the protesters under the banner of the recently formed Cockroach Janata Party cocked a snook not only at the government but also at the rusted systems represented by the likes of Chief Justice Surya Kant. The protesters sought the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, release of Wangchuk and payment of a Rs 1 crore compensation to the families of each of the students who died of suicide. Starkly, Modi was mum on all these points in his speech. In fact, the PM himself should shoulder the responsibility for the NEET fiasco. It is well-acknowledged that his government lacks talented individuals to handle key departments. Pradhan has no serious exposure to academic matters. He's a run of the mill politician. Education is not his forte. When qualified persons handle various ministries in other countries, India's systems are hijacked by street-smart politicians. Corrupt elements with political patronage are lurking in every corner to subvert the systems and make hay. The strength of the system of democracy get eroded thus.
Ironically however, even the Opposition is found wanting. The Congress party's weak-kneed response to the students' offensive against the system flaws and governmental ineptness is unacceptable. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should have been in the forefront to take on the government when situations like the NEET fiasco unfolded - and repeatedly. Perceptions strengthen that beyond Modi's blah-blahs from the podium, things are drifting on multiple fronts. Many of his ministers are faceless wonders.