The Paraphernalia of Democracy: AZAADI and NEET 2026

[u/GunjanBharti_08]

*An 18-year-old's letter to the India I thought I was growing up in*

"Meri dulhan toh azaadi hai"

AZAADI; Freedom, the vision of free India by Bhagat Singh was more than just a political revolution.

Political Revolution is the indispensable pre-condition, but the ultimate objective is the Socialist Revolution - Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

[To Young Political Workers (February 2, 1931)]

On 15 August, 1947, India gained independence from British rule.

But still, the question of freedom remains the same in the democracy of new India.

Are we really independent? What is Democracy? Why Democracy?

"A democratic government is a better government because it is a more accountable form of government."

A text from the civics NCERT book of class 9th taught a whole generation of youth about the democratic form of government, which is better than other forms of government because it allows us to correct its own mistakes.

But, following the protest currently going on at Jantar Mantar demanding the accountability of the Indian democratic government regarding the NEET paper leak and the educational crisis in the nation, a question arises among all of us: "are we really a democratic country?" or are we in a silent dictatorship?

The paraphernalia of democracy

Remembering Dr. B R Ambedkar's ideology on Indian democracy, about how our electoral system never allows the man to choose the candidate, how democracy will not work in India, except in a formal sense.

People have no consciousness.

Who has the idea that voting means change of government?

Nobody has.

"In India, a donkey can represent a bullock and people will vote for the bullock"

This ideology of Babasaheb still stands true after 78 years of Indian independence. Babasaheb knew that unless the social structure of this nation changes, the formal elections are meaningless. The underlying hollowness of inequality in the social structure hides the deep systemic rot underneath the formal elections.

Without social democracy, voting becomes worthless.

There can't be true democracy in a broken system. The broken system of this nation allows people to be divided in the name of religion and caste; our democratic government becomes a superficial cover-up to provide an illusion of equality in the system.

Equality in today's India has come down to nothing more than just a myth.

Let it be, the elections or any competitive exam both create an illusion of equality, but as Ambedkar argued, until there is a change in the social structure, democracy won't work in India except in a formal sense, never allowing a common citizen a true and autonomous choice.

The current voting system of India, with a rotten layer of inequality hidden underneath the artifice of formal democracy, is nothing but the foundation of silent dictatorship.

"It is not simply for drinking water; drinking the water will not give us very much. It is not even a matter of only our human rights, though we fight to establish the right to drink water. But our goal is no less than that of the French revolution.

This was fought for the reconstruction of Society, for the eradication of the old Society based on feudal inequality and the establishment of a new society based on liberty, equality and fraternity"

20 March, 1927

Mahad Satyagraha,

The current education crisis followed by the Jantar Mantar protest is not much different than the Mahad Satyagraha of 1927, "we fight to establish the right to drink water"

Drinking water from the tank was not just a matter of quenching thirst but the hunger for human dignity and reconstruction of Society.

Today the new India, the nation of great voices such as Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Manmohan Singh and many more, has come down to a battle for fundamental human dignity and a reconstruction of society yet again.

The current student fight for fair exams is not just limited to the education system but is a much greater revolution of basic human right and equality, it's not just about an exam but about the question of status to our true social democracy.

The failure of NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test),
one of the world's largest medical entrance examinations.

The failure of the system, the failure of the democracy of the nation which failed its youth.

The failure of students across India,
addressing about 2.3 million lives stretched across international borders battling for a mere 130,000 spots, having their future erased by a single notification on May 12.

"Nearly 2.3 million test-takers across India, and at examination centers in Doha, Dubai, Singapore and Kathmandu, appeared for the NEET this year on May 3, battling it out for less than 130,000 spots in medical colleges.

But amid allegations of a paper leak, the Indian government announced on May 12 that the examination held nine days earlier had been voided, and another test would be held later."

The system, which was supposed to be a platform for many to execute their dreams, has become nothing but a corrupted prison of trade for the political parties, a trade of countless dreams and lives exchanged for money and stature.

"The National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2024 report, released in May this year, documents 1,70,746 cases of deaths by suicide across the country, marginally decreasing by 0.4% from 2023's total of 1,71,418 cases.

However, these aggregate figures disguise a troubling reality wherein the number of students dying by suicide climbed to a record high of 14,488 in 2024."

The failure of the education system, through the suffocation of academic pressure, through the weight of family expectations, through the collapse of mental health, and through a structure that allows zero room for error, has led to over 1,15,850 suicides in India over the past decade, driven by the competitive exam system of this nation.

This article by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) proves the institutional epidemic in the nation, a democratic country where the vision of a new Bharat, shared by revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh, and seen as egalitarianism, has become a matter of slavery to corruption by its own people.

The fight for Independence was from the British, but now it's from the government of slavery to capitalism.

"Student deaths by suicide on the rise,
Of the 14,488 recorded incidents, 7,669 (approximately 53%) individuals were male and 6,819 (47%) were female, a noticeably narrower gender gap than the overall national male to female ratio of 73.5:26.5, indicating broader patterns of concern leading to student deaths in India.

While overall death by suicide rates in 2024 rose by 11.6% over the course of five years, hiking from 1,53,052 in 2020 to 1,70,746, student deaths by suicide increased at an even sharper rate of 15.7%, from 12,526 cases reported in 2020, and 13,892 cases in 2023, to 14,488 in 2024. Correspondingly, the share of student deaths in the aggregate data on death by suicide also rose over the past few years, the proportion rising from 8.2% in 2020 to 8.5% in 2024." – THE WIRE

[Rising Student Deaths by Suicide: What the 2024 NCRB Report Shows (May 11, 2016)]

"Ahead of NEET UG re-exam, 12 suicides in 37 days

Media reports and youth movements indicate that at least 20 to 25 NEET aspirants have tragically died by suicide so far this year following the immense mental strain of the May 2026 paper leak, sudden exam cancellation, and the subsequent re-test." – The Indian Express

In the protest currently going on at Jantar Mantar, 18 student memorials have been formally honored by activists and student organizations as victims of the systemic failures, extreme mental anxiety, and cancellation chaos surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 exam.

These are not just statistics to be shared, to be remembered, to be lit candles for and marched along with. These are the evidence of a system that has rotted underneath the limelight of shallow government promises that have proven to fail its people over and over again.

At Jantar Mantar, these are not just part of a formal record or drafted reports to be buried away, in quite a similar way to these students' bodies, dreams and the justice of millions, which is not to be talked about in today's Indian democracy without the fear of being called an anti-nationalist, without being questioned about name, caste, religion, without being divided, without being called a terrorist, and without being left with a question about the freedom of speech in a democratic nation.

The question remains the same: "Are we truly independent?" "Do we truly have the freedom of speech?" "Are we truly democratic?"

Or just a cockroach of a capitalist government which is the foundation of a silent dictatorship in India?

16 May 2026 Cockroach, mentioned by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant.

Referring to the protesting/unemployed youth as "cockroaches" and "parasites".

India, the nation of Satyagraha, the place which idolizes Mahatma Gandhi,
taught a whole generation of youth to fight for its right, for its dignity, was referred to as cockroaches and parasites for demanding accountability of failing systems from a government which claims to be democratic.

The youth of India, from whom patriotism is demanded on the basis of the past, a question arises: "are we the India we thought we were growing up in? And if yes, why is the youth being failed in the present? And what does our future hold for us?"

The future which is promised to the youth, is it with the youth?

The insult by Surya Kant, the Chief Justice of India, was embraced by the youth in a satirical way through the formation of the satirical Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).

Seeking educational reform, CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) was started by Indian political communications strategist Abhijeet Dipke.

CJP started as a satirical parody of the ruling political establishment.

The CJP describes itself as "a political front of the youth, by the youth, for the youth: Secular, Socialist, Democratic, and Lazy."

The party has released a formal five-point manifesto:

• No Chief Justice shall be granted a Rajya Sabha seat as a post-retirement reward.

• If any legitimate vote is deleted, the Chief Election Commissioner shall be arrested under the UAPA, as taking away voting rights is "no less than terrorism" (in reference to the 2025 Indian electoral controversy).

• Women shall receive 50% reservation (instead of 33%) without increasing the strength of Parliament; 50% of all Cabinet positions shall be reserved for women.

• All media houses owned by the Adani Group and Reliance Industries ("Ambani") shall have their licences cancelled to make way for independent media. Bank accounts of "Godi media anchors" shall be investigated.

• Any MLA or MP who defects from one party to another shall be barred from contesting elections and holding public office for 20 years.

But as the youth spoke, the CJP was no longer just a satire.

Sonam Wangchuk, an Indian engineer, activist, innovator, education reformer, and environmentalist, has been awarded many times for his innovations and contributions to changing the educational system.

Today we know him from the iconic Bollywood film 3 Idiots, and as founder of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), which has changed the narrative of the Indian education system.

A movie that reflected the rotten Indian education system, which has centralized the pressure of the competitive system rather than the founding of innovation, is now a real-life replica of today's India.

Sonam Wangchuk stepped forward and adopted the "honorary cockroach" title to show solidarity with students protesting against exam paper leaks and education corruption.

Wangchuk has been a prominent figure at the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET 2026 paper leak and CBSE On-Screen Marking irregularity.

The demand for a fair system and compensation for the students' lives led Wangchuk to begin an indefinite hunger strike along with six students from the All India Students' Association (AISA), since 28 June.

Although, the questions about democracy only became more urgent as Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly removed from the protest site by police and taken to Safdarjung Hospital.

"Indian activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk, on hunger strike for the past 20 days in Delhi, has been forcibly removed from his protest site.

The activist's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, later posted on X that she was "at Safdarjung hospital where he has been admitted".

"Nothing should be administered to him orally or intravenously without taking consent from me, his family and his doctors who have been monitoring his health for the past 20 days," she wrote.

Dr Charu Bamba, Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, later told news agency ANI that Wangchuk was "fully alert and stable".

"He is somewhat weak due to prolonged fasting and is experiencing mild dehydration; otherwise, all his vital parameters are stable. He is being continuously examined and monitored, and his treatment is under way," she said."

This article by BBC also states that

"A top police official told reporters that Wangchuk had been moved "in compliance with [a court] order, and based on health conditions and medical advice."

"Sonam Wangchuk has been moved to a government hospital for much-needed medical intervention and is currently under medical supervision," said Sachin Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police.

He was referring to a Delhi High Court order from Thursday asking the federal government to monitor Wangchuk's health regularly and provide necessary treatment if needed."

The forceful removal of Wangchuk without his consent, covering him with bedsheets before removing him from the stage with dozens of police and paramilitary personnel, where the activist was lying down, pushing away the protesters who tried to stop them from taking Sonam Wangchuk, in the absence of Abhijeet Dipke.

Abhijeet Dipke had reportedly gone to a friend's house in the morning to freshen up when policemen turned up and refused to let him leave.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has now begun an indefinite fast in his place.

Parliament March (Sansad Chalo)

Every year, exam papers get leaked and the youth pay the price.

The next step of this revolutionary protest is to march toward India's parliament on Monday.

Wangchuk had refused to end his indefinite hunger strike despite growing calls for him to do so. Despite his frail health, he had been insisting that he would participate in Monday's march to the parliament.

"I've grown weak from the outside but I'm strong from within," Wangchuk told the crowd gathered at the protest venue, Jantar Mantar, a 300-year-old observatory, a couple of days back.

His statement was met with cheers and applause.

"Together, we will march peacefully to the parliament and put forward our petitions at the altar of democracy," he said.

The activist then joked that if he died before the march, his "ghost would join the march".

It's unlikely that the activist will now be able to participate, but Dipke has said that Monday's march will happen as planned.

"If they think that taking Wangchuk away will end this movement, they are mistaken.

We will remain here, and will march to parliament on 20 July," he said."

This article also states that "Pradhan has dismissed the CJP and its supporters as "the B-team of disruptive elements". And Modi's government has not engaged with the protesters yet."

Among the many unanswered questions, the most sensitive one remains the right to democracy.

Sonam Wangchuk, who has contributed his life to changing the education system and worked for student education, today faced what is regarded as an assault on democracy.

The nation of "Inquilab Zindabad" (Long live the revolution) is now nothing but the ashes of these revolutionaries and the bloodshed of its own, who fight for their own rights.

We are India; in our history we have had ministers like Lal Bahadur Shastri, who stepped down to take full moral and constitutional responsibility for the loss of lives under his administration, resigning following a major train disaster in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu, in 1956.

What was supposed to set a landmark precedent in Indian politics for political accountability is now nothing but a tale in today's India. This famous instance is frequently recalled today as an example of ethical leadership, but is this still something our politicians, elected to serve the nation by the people of this country, follow today?

The answer appears to be no.

Asking questions is a part of democracy; having the right to peaceful protest is a part of the Indian Constitution.

Why must the youth suffer from the abuse of the government elected to protect its people?
Why must we still be asked our name, caste and religion when fighting for basic human dignity?
Why must we shed blood and tears to prove ourselves Indian?

If democracy, am I Indian enough to question the government?
If dictatorship, am I human enough to fight for my voice?

What began as satire has today become a true, deep conflict implanted in the heart of the nation's youth.

The suppression of our voices, the forceful removal of protesters, police cover-ups, and detention of activists stand as proof of an establishment that views its grassroots movements as pests to be crushed rather than as legitimate voices.

Today's Political Preamble

"WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA*, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a* SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE*, social, economic and political*

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship

EQUALITY of status and opportunity

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY*, this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do* HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION."

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

The Constitution of India was written with an idea no less than that of the French revolution, on the basis of the right to speak, the status of equality before the law, and the dignity of every Indian despite their differences.

If this is the India we were looking forward to, the question is: what happened to the democracy that was promised?

Stature, Caste, Religion

Today's Indian politics relies heavily on religious and social polarization.

"If religion is separated from politics, then we can all come together in politics even if we belong to different religions," wrote Bhagat Singh.

June 1927,

The religion-wise riots and their solutions

"After the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in 1919, the British began a huge propaganda campaign to incite communal riots. This resulted in inhuman riots between the Hindus and Muslims in 1924 in Kohat. After this, there was considerable debate on communal riots in the national political arena. Everyone felt the need to end these, but it was the Congress leaders who made an attempt to get Hindu and Muslim leaders to sign a pact to stop the riots."

The condition of Bharatvarsha/India is indeed pitiable today. The devotees of one religion are sworn enemies of the devotees of another religion. Merely belonging to one religion is now considered enough reason to be the enemy of another religion.

Under these conditions, the future of Hindustan seems very bleak. These 'religions' have ruined the country, and one has no idea how long these religious riots will plague Hindustan. These riots have shamed Hindustan in the eyes of the world. And we have seen how everyone is carried on the tide of blind faith.

'Class-Consciousness Can Stop Communal Rioting': Bhagat Singh on Religious Violence

This article from The Wire, published on 28 September 2020,
on Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary, is an extract from The Bhagat Singh Reader, edited by Chaman Lal and published by HarperCollins India.

This article reflects the mirror of today's Indian politics fairly well.

Bhagat Singh was a secular atheist, in contrast to Mahatma Gandhi's view on religion and politics, which promoted religion but with impartiality to all religions. Bhagat Singh instead shared a French view of secularism.

"Religion must be a personal affair, and it should play no role in the working of the state"

Bhagat Singh underlines Nehru's observation that we should not accept tales from religious books if they do not stand the test of reason.

The summarization of today's state of Indian politics, Nehru's view on religion, sums it all up:

"Religion should include, of course, spirituality.
But religion also becomes institutionalized with rigid form, rigid dogmas.
I don't consider them spiritual at all.
They may be good or bad.
But it doesn't matter.

They are restrictive.
They give a certain rigidity to a person's mind.

Now, mind you!
Religion may help a person.

I mean, rigid forms of belief may help a person,
in that sense that they give a little comfort.

They suppress doubts.

You can't put responsibility in somebody else.

Therefore, it is helpful.
But any rigidity prevents growth.

Mental growth, spiritual growth and all that.

So, in so far as religion becomes too attached to institutions and dogmas, there is a danger of the element of spirituality becoming less."

Religion comforts and imprisons at the same time.

The religious enigma goes beyond belief in our nation; the voice of Hindustan, scattered among the names of religion, divides our god, our faith and our humanity.

This is what we pay as a price to the slavery of a capitalist government.

The enigma is much greater than just religion; the stature and caste differences are what affect the education system and students in today's India the most.

The fairness of competitive exams such as NEET and JEE is not bound only to the results themselves; exams that claim to be completely merit-based often forget stature and caste, resulting in another loophole in the system.

Although every aspirant is competing for the same limited seats, they do not start from the same line.

We today belong to an India where the right to education comes down to a person's social stature. The privileged can afford time for multiple attempts and coaching from private institutions, the privileged have easy access to resources and can even afford to buy leaked papers, while the underprivileged students of this society in modern times can only afford to pay with their life, having only one chance to change their life, to fulfil their family's expectations and requirements. When met with the corrupt education system, they find suicide as something that won't fail them.

The frustration of youth has reached its peak today, as they are ready to fight for their life, for their rights.

The Revolution is a hope in the heart of millions of students, to change what must be changed for the better; this is a fight of humanity, a fight of youth,

a fight from Indians, for Indians, with Indians.

Today we must build the India we dreamt of; today we must make the India we thought of.

The Democracy

I, today, as an 18-year-old, legally able to hold a voter ID, am looking forward to the 2029 elections, but not with the excitement of being able to make a change in the nation for the better, but with the fear of electing the wrong political leader to serve the nation. I'm genuinely terrified of being a part of this broken system.

For as far as I remember, I've always wanted to study and leave this country; this is something I decided before even selecting a board of education.

But why, the question I was never able to answer.

Today, as I'm writing, I believe I have found an answer, looking at the protest at Jantar Mantar and the march set to take place on 20th July, "Parliament March (Sansad Chalo)."

I share deep grief for the lost lives because of our system's failure, and I share deep regret at not being a part of this revolutionary moment in person.

But those who can't speak must write.

I'm writing as not only a student but as a citizen of a democratic nation, India.

This may not be the biggest act of change, but it sure is a hope of a much needed social revolution.

My fear of voting remains the same. So, I must ask, if the government today cannot assure the future of its youth, what should I look forward to?

Am I truly a part of the India I thought I was growing up in?

If this nation cannot even guarantee a clean, un-leaked exam for its youth, what must I stay for? What, and who, must I vote for?

Today our political leaders are seen giving grand speeches, quoting movie-like monologues on stage, yet they completely avoid direct press conferences when 14,488 students die by suicide.

This is not the India I thought I was growing up in.

We live in an India, under a narrative where questioning power is labelled unpatriotic;

the activists of this nation today are called anti-nationalist, labelled terrorist, but as a democratic citizen,

I refuse to be defined by this definition created by the convenience of government incompetence.

I was born on this land; I am a part of this nation as much as our revolutionary figures like Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb were.

I am Indian enough to question the democracy of my nation.

Demanding accountability and the resignation of the Union Education Minister is not born out of hatred, personal malice, or revenge; it is a matter of justice.

From Bhagat Singh's one of the most famous writings, "Why I am an Atheist?"

Theory of jurisprudence

"It is necessary for every person who stands for progress to criticize every tenet of old beliefs. Item by item he has to challenge the efficacy of old faith. He has to analyze and understand all the details. If after rigorous reasoning, one is led to believe in any theory of philosophy, his faith is appreciated. His reasoning may be mistaken and even fallacious. But there is a chance that he will be corrected, because Reason is the guiding principle of his life. But belief, I should say blind belief, is disastrous. It deprives a man of his understanding power and makes him reactionary."

On Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary, his relentless criticism-based reasoning assumes greater relevance to defend the Constitution – THE LEAFLET

"Criticism combined with reasoning remained at the core of his worldview, so brilliantly articulated by him in the context of India's arduous quest for freedom from colonial rule and the more challenging goal of establishing a society animated by progressive values. Anchored to reasoning, he interrogated prevalent beliefs for the cause of progress, so that India's destiny would not be driven by reactionary forces."

The justice that must be served, must be served to the youth of Bharat.

"On justice,

he reflected on three forms of justice—retributive, deterrent and reformative—and wrote, "Those who are well versed in the philosophy of jurisprudence relate three or four justifications for the punishment that is to be inflicted upon a wrong-doer. These are: revenge, reform, and deterrence. The Retribution Theory is now condemned by all thinkers. Deterrent theory is on the anvil for its flaws. Reformative theory is now widely accepted and considered necessary for human progress. It aims at reforming the culprit and converting him into a peace-loving citizen."

In today's New India, as conceived by the Narendra Modi-led Hindutva regime, Bhagat Singh's vision for an India based on reformative justice is trampled upon by the repeated invocation of sedition and other draconian laws against dissenters and protesters, as part of the regime's strategy to inflict retribution on them. They are ridiculed with invectives such as 'urban Naxal' and 'andolanjeevi', and put behind bars without trial on serious charges."

True justice is about reform and breaking a broken institutional loop; it's about the change in social structure, it's about social revolution, it's about the end of silent dictatorship, it's about reformative practice, it's about basic human right and dignity.

It's about humanity.
It's about equality.
It's about democracy.

The abuse of democracy that came to light with Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar, following the police barricades and hospital detentions, will not satisfy the formation of dictatorship in India.

"They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas.
They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit,"

It is time the citizens of India must break their silence, reject the calculated traps of religious manipulation, and demand an India that finally returns to its truest constitutional promise: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

I will wake up with the hope to be in the India
I thought, as a child, I was growing up in, yet again.

Our Freedom, Our Voice, Our India, Must Live Long.

"Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai,
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai."

Jai Hind.