Leaked exams, dashed dreams: Why India’s ‘cockroach’ youth turned on Modi

Ashok Kumar, a 25-year-old who once benefited from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's welfare programs, now finds himself demonstrating against the government. His family, like many others, saw improved living standards after Modi's rise in 2014, with initiatives like cheap cooking gas and direct farm subsidies offering hope. However, Ashok's disillusionment stems from the repeated mismanagement of India's crucial examination system.

“

His government expanded benefits like cheap cooking gas and direct farm subsidies, giving Ashok and his younger brother Abhishek hope for a better future.

The recent invalidation of national medical exam results for approximately 2 million students, including Ashok's brother Abhishek, ignited widespread protests. These standardized tests are a primary route to the middle class and secure public-sector jobs, offering lifelong stability and benefits unavailable in the private sector, where corporate job growth has significantly slowed. The competition is fierce, with success often statistically harder than gaining admission to Harvard.

“

But last week, 25-year-old Ashok found himself demonstrating against Modi next to Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century astronomical observatory that anchors New Delhi’s main protest site.

Since 2014, at least two dozen exams have been invalidated due to leaks, but the latest incident triggered one of India's largest uprisings in decades. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets, expressing fury at a system that stands between them and an "iron rice bowl", a metaphor for job security. Ashok and Abhishek, who moved from their impoverished home state of Bihar to Delhi to pursue degrees and prepare for these competitive exams, represent the millions of young Indians whose dreams are being dashed by systemic failures.

“

The world’s most populous country rations access to thousands of public-sector jobs, diplomats and administrators, but also clerks and forest rangers, through grueling exams for which students spend years and small fortunes preparing.