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Youth protesters seek fair exams, march from Parivartan Chowk to Shaheed Smarak in Lucknow
Demanding accountability and transparent examination systems, protesters call for march to Vidhan Bhavan on Saturday
W Demanding accountability and transparent examination systems, scores of students, young professionals and progressive people gathered at Lucknow’s Parivartan Chowk on Friday in solidarity with the CJP-led protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and marched to Shaheed Smarak here, shouting slogans and displaying posters amid heavy police deployment.
The protest culminated peacefully with the national anthem and a vow to reach Parivartan Chowk around 12.30pm on Saturday for a march to the Vidhan Bhavan.
Riya Ghosh, 35, a professional, invoked history as she said the spirit of the Dandi March must remain alive.
“Gandhi actualised the spirit of speaking against wrong. If we are here, it is because schools and colleges have lost critical thinking. From Meera to Mahadevi, voices have always resisted,” she said.
Manish Singh, 35, spoke about “years of irregularities” in recruitment.
“Papers get leaked, exams are not conducted fairly. I have sat in all teaching exams for the last several years,” he said. Holding a poster linking degrees to unemployment, National Student Union of India (NSUI’s) Vishal Singh said the youth have lost faith in the system.
“Papers are leaked, we are not ending up with jobs. If we live in a democracy where the government is ‘of’, ‘by’ and ‘for’ the people, the education minister must resign,” he said.
Sandeep Pal, 29, said he was jobless despite his qualifications. “I am unemployed. Even after studying, where will we get jobs? Privatisation and exam irregularities have destroyed opportunities. The BJP government has forgotten us,” he said.
Some posters read: “Education is not for sale. No more paper leaks;” “Paper leak ko bachao, Pradhan ko nahi (plug paper leaks, don’t save Pradhan).”
Yuzu, 18, compared the protest to resistance movements. Holding a ‘One Piece’ poster, he said “The poster represents freedom and resistance.”
Shubham Kharwar vowed protests would continue until the education minister resigned.
Dipshita Dhar, 32, said, “Young people of India have been betrayed by the government. They are demanding basic things — let there be free and fair examinations,” she said.
Chandrika Singh, 24, said, “I ask for answers, accountability and responsibility from the government. We elected them to power,” she said.
(With inputs from Ayushi Shukla)
