Journalism of Courage
As Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, a look at previous major protests against education ministers
BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister on Saturday amid a storm over multiple exam paper leaks. Pradhan, however, is hardly the first Education Minister in India to face protests by students.
Dharmendra Pradhan, however, is hardly the first Education Minister in India to face protests by students
BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister on Saturday amid a storm over multiple exam paper leaks, including the NEET-UG. Pradhan’s resignation came after demonstrations by youth protesters in Delhi since June 6 that have found an echo in other cities as well.
The resignation was the primary demand at the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest site at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, as well as a precondition for the Congress and other Opposition parties for debating a tough new law against exam paper leaks scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on Monday.
Pradhan, however, is hardly the first Education Minister in India to face protests by students. Here’s a look at some of the recent student protests against education ministers or their projects, and the impact these agitations had.
2016: Smriti Irani: The Rohit Vemula protests
In July 2015, the University of Hyderabad abruptly terminated the monthly stipend of Rohith Vemula, a 26-year-old Dalit PhD scholar. Shortly after, the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA) and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarti Parishad (ABVP) engaged in a violent clash. This incident prompted the BJP MP from Secunderabad, Bandaru Dattatreya, to brand the campus as “anti-national” in a letter to Human Resource Development Minister (as the Education Ministry was then known) Smriti Irani.
By December 2015, Vemula and four others were officially suspended from the University and expelled from using their hostels or common spaces. Vemula and his compatriots began a hunger strike from January 3, 2016. On January 17, Vemula died by suicide after calling out systemic caste discrimination.
His death sparked nationwide student protests against institutional caste bias, with demands for a central ‘Rohith Act’ against caste discrimination. No such act was passed nationally. The Karnataka cabinet, however, adopted a Rohith Vemula Bill, that mandates equity committees, in 2026. It has not been introduced in the state legislature yet.
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Despite a strong outcry calling for Irani’s resignation from the post of HRD Minister, no such step was taken. Irani, however, was shifted to the Textile Ministry in July 2016 as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
2013-2014 Kapil Sibal: FYUP protests
In 2013, Delhi University introduced the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), one of the most ambitious reforms in its history. The programme, backed by the then Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and championed by Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh, sought to replace the traditional three-year undergraduate degree with a four-year structure featuring foundation courses, interdisciplinary learning, and multiple exit options.
The move triggered widespread protests by teachers’ associations and student groups, who argued that the programme had been rushed through without adequate consultation, increased the academic burden on students, and deviated from the nationally accepted 10+2+3 structure. The controversy intensified after the change of government at the Centre in 2014, when the University Grants Commission directed Delhi University to scrap the programme, saying it violated established norms.
Following a weeks-long standoff, Delhi University rolled back FYUP in June 2014 and restored the three-year undergraduate system. Sibal, however, did not resign or leave office over the controversy; by then, the UPA government had already been voted out of power after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
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2000-2004: Murli Manohar Joshi: ‘Saffronisation’ protests
Between 1999-2004, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allowed a complete overhaul of school curricula under the guidance of then-Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.
This process triggered protests against the alleged “saffronisation” of education in the country. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) introduced new educational textbooks that critics argued promoted a Hindu nationalist interpretation of Indian history and culture.
An example was the reduced focus on medieval Muslim contributions to Indian history. Scholars such Romila Thapar were prominent in the protests. Educator and Magsaysay Award laureate Aruna Roy (alongside others) filed a PIL against the National Curriculum Framework for School Education. They argued that the framework was unconstitutional because it was implemented without consulting the Central Advisory Board of Education — India’s oldest education advisory board — and placed undue focus on incorporating religious concepts into state education. The PIL was dismissed in 2002 by a 2:1 majority of a three-judge Supreme Court bench which ruled that the framework did not violate Article 28 of the Constitution.
Minister Joshi tendered his resignation in September 2003 — this was, however, due to charges connecting him to the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid.
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In the 2004 General Elections, the NDA government was defeated by the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress. Subsequently, the new HRD Minister, Arjun Singh, initiated a formal ‘de-saffornisation’ drive and restored the older textbooks.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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