Is ‘dialogue’ the new bare minimum? How India’s youth movement is calling for education reform

Dalbir Ahlawat

School of International Studies

Press/Media: Expert Comment

Description

A mass gathering at Jantar Mantar and a march towards Parliament in New Delhi saw protesters demand Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET paper leak controversy. The removal and transfer of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest site to hospital has further fuelled debate. As social media remains sharply divided, SBS Hindi spoke with academics, members of the Indian diaspora in Australia, students at the protest, and a journalist reporting from the ground to explore what demonstrators are calling for and how the events unfolded.

Subject

India, Education, Reform, Diaspora

Period	23 Jul 2026

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

Title	Is ‘dialogue’ the new bare minimum? How India’s youth movement is calling for education reform
Degree of recognition	National
Media name/outlet	SBS
Media type	Radio
Duration/Length/Size	20.39 minutes
Country/Territory	Australia
Date	23/07/26
Description	A mass gathering at Jantar Mantar and a march towards Parliament in New Delhi saw protesters demand Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET paper leak controversy. The removal and transfer of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest site to hospital has further fuelled debate. As social media remains sharply divided, SBS Hindi spoke with academics, members of the Indian diaspora in Australia, students at the protest, and a journalist reporting from the ground to explore what demonstrators are calling for and how the events unfolded.
Producer/Author	Bhavya Pandey
URL	https://www.sbs.com.au/language/hindi/en/podcast-episode/is-dialogue-the-new-bare-minimum-how-indias-youth-movement-is-calling-for-education-reform/miq4mawzw
Persons	Dalbir Ahlawat