The Resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan on NEET Issue

The resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as India's education vindicates the popular adage - "too little, too late". This should have happened at least a month ago, if not before. Not after as the classic Odia DHAGA (proverb) goes - "NEDI GUDA KAHUNI KU BOHI JAICHI" - "Jaggery from the palm had already flowed to the elbow", simply meaning "too late to be recoverable".

Nero fiddled when Rome burned and delayed taking action for long time to quell the fire. Not sure why the modern day Nero's able advisors didn't tell him that procrastination or inaction is not an action. It could be that well into 3rd term, after 12 years in power arrogance, ineptness and complacency has crept into the current administration which made the two men in charge (it's a duo poly government ruling India now) didn't see this storm coming.

Dealing with students, especially those from the Generation Z isn't easy and can be extremely sensitive. They are young, youthful, emotionally fragile and effervescent in nature. They need to be handled carefully like a crate of glasses or crockery with a warning "handle with care". Students aren't Farmers agitating against some Farm Bill who could be easily branded and dismissed as Khalistani Deshdrohis (anti-nationals). They aren't SAR protesters who could be easily alluded as traitors funded by foreign agents whose list is long - from George Soros to China and Pakistan's notorious ISI. They are just simple students like our kids who are young. Like every boy and girl at their age, they too have dream of a romantic future. The NEET paper leak has certainly turned their dream into a nightmare. Their protest is genuine, creative and largely non violent. These young men and women are like lightning rods, touching whom could be catastrophic. Stepping on their toes is like stepping on a live wire or the tail of a Cobra which could bite back viciously. The government conveniently forgot this fact and got bitten in this process.

This is the generation of social media which is on the rise. Love it or hate it, ignore the social media at your peril. Armed with a smart phone, every Tom, Dick, Harry or Ram, Rohit or Rekha is a reporter who can snap a picture or video and it global in seconds. Such is the power of the social media these days ! This is not our generation of 1980s where police brutality in daylight can escape the camera. Delhi Police Additional DCP Sandeep Lamba, seen wearing a stylish RayBan Meta AI smart glasses was not only recorded slapping a girl, he was also heard telling his troops "HADDIYAN TODO INKI" (break their bones). It's appalling that at this age of social media when thousands could snap your private activities in public, an official from India's premium Indian Police Service (IPS) would behave in such a blatantly casual manner. Sorry to say this, but probably with exception of sub Saharan Africa, in no country the police is as biased, partisan and corrupt as in India. So, let's not just blame it on the students as hooligans. Police is the "ASLI CHOR" (real thief) these days.

Politically biased people can never see the truth behind these educational issues, related to universal education which a basic human right every boy or girl is entitled to. If one tries to show them these brainwashed folks the reason, he or she will be termed as either a leftist elitist, or for worst an anti national who should be banished to Pakistan. The reputed newspaper Indian Express (14 June 2026) has reported more than a dozen question paper leaks in the past two decades and there was no resignation or youth movement. In a month since the government slept when the situation slowly started getting out of hand. If there are mistakes in the system, then the government should take the responsibility for solving them internally, not indulging in blame game.

Some hardcore supporters of Modi/BJP (the order is deliberate as they perceive Modi as BJP and even India) are blaming the opposition parties, primarily the Congress for supporting the student's agitating. Imagine if this happened during the MMS government between 2014 - 2024. These hardcore blind devotees would be talking in a different tone today and BJP would be talking in a different language if their position was swapped. Talk about hypocrisy !

I think governments should have a 10 year term limit. Invariably after 10 years in power, they become arrogant and complacency creeps in. This is where they tend to make mistakes. No wonder Mark Twain famously said - "Politicians and Diapers should be changed often for the same reason". Incidentally, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, arguably two most well governed states change their government frequently.

Regardless, there is definitely a lot of genuine discontent amongst India's youth which needs to be addressed immediately with a serious note. Brushing it under the carpet in the guise of conspiracy theories like foreign hands, George Soros, China, Congress, Gandhi, Nehru etc isn't the solution, it's rather kicking the can down the road. Clearly, the government has mishandled this issue so far. Announcement of Pradhan's resignation might take some steam out of the movement which could gradually fizzle out. They made Dharmendra Pradhan the fall guy little late for comfort, but one can take comfort with the fact that it's "Better late than never". The seed of discontent has been shown. The situation still is akin to a room filled with inflammable gas. It just takes someone to gaslight it. Tomorrow is after all another day.