Thousands march in India over exam leak, education reforms

Police blocked a march to India’s Parliament in New Delhi on July 20 as thousands of mostly young protesters demanded Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam.

More than 10,000 protesters marched toward Parliament that day, while videos from Delhi showed tens of thousands of Gen Z demonstrators and crowds of more than 1 lakh near the complex. Police declared the march illegal and lathi-charged protesters in the middle of Parliament’s Monsoon Session.

NEET UG 2026 was cancelled in May over alleged paper leak claims, affecting more than 22 lakh candidates. Fresh dates for the re-exam and revised admit cards were to be announced separately, and on May 8 the National Testing Agency referred the matter to central agencies for independent investigation. Outside the agency’s office, student groups including the National Students’ Union of India pressed for answers.

Rahul Gandhi demanded that Pradhan be removed, saying the leak had betrayed 22 lakh aspirants and arguing that if Pradhan was not sacked, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take responsibility. Pradhan said no student would be disadvantaged and later vowed that no one responsible for exam irregularities or paper leaks would be spared.

The Delhi protests also overlapped with Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, where the educator and activist was pressing not only on the NEET controversy but also for statehood for Ladakh and Sixth Schedule protections. Police later removed Wangchuk from the site and took him to Safdarjung Hospital on medical advice. Solidarity marches were also held in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Siliguri.