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Asia Pacific|Indian Protesters to March on Parliament After Exam Leaks
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/world/asia/india-protesters-cockroach-party-exam-hunger-strike.html
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The Cockroach Janta Party’s demonstration in New Delhi has swelled since police forcibly removed Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent activist who has been on a hunger strike, on Saturday.
July 20, 2026, 12:22 a.m. ET
Thousands of Indian protesters gathered to march on Parliament on Monday to demand the resignation of the country’s education minister over botched entrance exams that affected millions of students. One of the capital’s largest protest in years sets up a potential showdown with the New Delhi police that has said it will stop unauthorized gatherings.
A weekslong demonstration in the capital swelled on Sunday, a day after police forcibly removed Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent activist who has been on hunger strike for more than 20 days. They moved him to a hospital saying it was for court-ordered essential medical care, despite opposition from his family and fellow protesters.
On Monday morning, crowds started pouring into Jantar Mantar, the site where protests have largely been restricted to in New Delhi in recent years. Mr. Wangchuk has continued his fast at the hospital. His wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, has said that he still hopes to attend Monday’s march, and she has filed a court petition describing her husband’s detention as an illegal abduction.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not responded to the protesters’ demands and has warned protesters not to break the law.
Many protesters said they had joined after seeing the government’s heavy-handedness with Mr. Wangchuk. They are angry at the government’s lack of response on an issue that has caused anger across India, where some students have died by suicide because of the stress of exam mismanagement, according to Indian media reports.
“People didn’t raise their voices for long, and those in government think that they don’t have to listen,” Amrita Srivastav, 30, a schoolteacher, who was at the protest site on Sunday along with her partner. “We will make sure they hear us.”
