Student Stories

Inayat, a Class 12 student from UP, came to Jantar Mantar with her sister. She has two years of NEET preparation behind her and an anxious wait for re-exam results. "I have seen the system fail multiple times already. Why should I wait until it happens to me personally before I speak?" She said she had no political affiliation and had never attended a protest before.

Manish Kumar, a PhD student in Chemistry at Allahabad University, was on Day 18 of a personal hunger strike when he spoke to journalists. "Whether it is NEET, UPSC, or any other competitive exam — paper leaks have become normal. As a chemistry student, I know what Kulkarni allegedly did. I know how paper security should work. This was not an accident. This was a system someone exploited because no one was watching."

Suryaprakash Singh, a Master's student in Chemistry from Indore, took an overnight train to Delhi without telling his parents. He carried his Class 12 Chemistry NCERT textbook. "When a paper leak leads to an exam being cancelled, it isn't just an exam that is lost. Your time, your energy, your resources, your parents' money — everything goes with it. The time you lose can never be returned." He said he was not affiliated with any student organization.

A group of humanities students attending their first ever protest at Jantar Mantar, July 2026: "The government should be afraid of the people, not the other way around." They were standing near students from Punjab who had driven through the night. None of them had appeared for NEET. "This is not about just NEET students. This is about every student who prepares for any exam in this country."

Nedhi, from Delhi, was at the July 20 Sansad Chalo march when police used lathi charges and tear gas. "We were sitting peacefully when they threw tear gas and beat us. We aren't criminals. We are students. I don't understand why they beat us." She was attending the protest for the third consecutive day.

Neha from Bihar came to Jantar Mantar specifically because paper leaks are "normal" in her home state. On July 20, caught in the lathi charge: "They beat the girls too. I fell down and lost my slippers. Back home, paper leaks happen all the time. If we don't gather like this, how will anyone even hear us?" She said she had spent her own savings to travel to Delhi.

Sana Parveen, a student at Miranda House, University of Delhi, came to Jantar Mantar for her cousin who spent three years preparing for NEET. "The National Education Policy's implementation is zero everywhere. The education system is collapsing. My cousin gave three years of her life to something that was compromised before she even sat in the exam hall."

Lata Pandey, 51, mother of two children who have no connection to NEET, came to Jantar Mantar after reading about student suicides. "Should we wait until it happens to our own children? When I read that children are dying by suicide because of a paper leak, I cannot sit at home and do nothing."

Ravindra Kumar, in his sixties, whose daughter scored well in NEET 2024 only for the exam to be cancelled due to irregularities: "Our entire family went into depression. She worked so hard. The cancellation was like being told: your effort doesn't matter. Now she is preparing again for NEET 2026. I came here for her, and for every other child in her position."

Siddhanth Raj, 21, Philosophy student at Dayal Singh College, Delhi University, was at his first-ever protest on July 20. "It's not about one paper leak. Every leak puts our future at stake, yet no one is held accountable. How long are we supposed to keep enduring this?" He said he was inspired to come after seeing videos of Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike.