We, the students, looked fear in the eye

Protestors burst out in jubilation following the resignation announcement by Dharmendra Pradhan. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha) 6 min readJul 25, 2026 09:15 PM IST First published on: Jul 25, 2026 at 09:15 PM IST By Neha When I think of how this movement began, I return to May 3, when NEET-UG was held, and May 12, when it was cancelled after the paper leak could no longer be denied. For students, this was not merely an examination gone wrong. It was years of preparation, family savings, borrowed money and postponed lives. Young people died by suicide. Families were shattered. Yet the government was neither apologetic nor accountable.Our demand for the education minister’s resignation arose from this refusal of responsibility. Not once did the government try to sit with students or underst