In India, where the Minister of Education resigned after large protests over a recent leak of medical school entrance exam questions, a new demonstration broke out to protest alleged cheating in civil service exams. Thousands of students and job seekers took to the streets and clashed with police, leaving some injured.
On the 11th, local time, Reuters and Bloomberg reported that the day before, in Ranchi, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, thousands of students and others held a protest over alleged cheating in civil service exams.
The protesters demanded a complete overhaul of Jharkhand's civil service exam system and that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) directly probe the allegations of cheating.
A student on a hunger strike said, "Today is a day of revolution and change for us," adding it was "a decisive day of struggle."
Some protesters clashed with police as they tried to march past police barricades toward the state assembly. The protesters marched with placards and Indian flags, and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. Some officers also used batons.
According to UPI, people on both sides—police and protesters—were injured in the clashes.
Police explained they had no choice but to use minimal force when some protesters turned violent. Panas Rana, the Ranchi police chief, told ANI, "They are just students," adding, "We took only minimal tough measures for a very short time."
The protest began on the 25th of last month after allegations surfaced of misconduct, including grading errors, in Jharkhand's civil service hiring process.
The Jharkhand government says it has accepted most of the protesters' demands, including canceling some tests under suspicion of wrongdoing. It also said it could enter additional talks with the protesters.
Jharkhand is considered a relatively poor region in India. Civil service jobs, seen as stable employment, are popular among local job seekers.
In India, large youth protests over the fairness of exams have continued recently. Earlier, demonstrations by a Generation Z group (born 1995–2007) protesting the leak of medical school entrance exam questions continued for nearly two months, centered in New Delhi, the capital.
As those protests spread, Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan ultimately stepped down. Former Minister Pradhan became the first minister to resign due to large protests in the 12 years since Narendra Modi took power.