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Students in Karnataka's university town of Manipal and the coastal city of Mangaluru took to the streets on Friday, July 24, in solidarity with students protesting in Delhi over the leak of the NEET paper. Joining demonstrations held across the country, they demanded accountability from the Union government, greater transparency in competitive examinations and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The Delhi demonstrations, led by students and the satirical Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), drew national attention after videos and photographs purportedly showing police action against protesters were widely shared on social media. The visuals, along with growing criticism of the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the alleged NEET paper leak, prompted students in several cities to organise solidarity protests.
In Manipal, a major university town that attracts students from across India and abroad, hundreds of students marched from Coin Circle to the Deputy Commissioner's office. The protest, marked by slogans, rap performances and dance, saw participants express their anger over the alleged paper leak and concerns about the integrity of competitive examinations.
June Maity, a content creator and student at Manipal University, who helped organise the protest, said the demonstration began as an idea shared among students online.
"One of our followers messaged us asking, 'Why can't we have this in Manipal?' We thought, why not? So we put up an Instagram story, and within one or two hours, around 2,000 students from Manipal had joined the group. We were initially planning to hold the protest on Sunday, but after getting police permission for today, we had just five hours to organise everything. It was challenging, but the response from the Manipal student community has been incredible," she said.
"This protest is about holding the government accountable and standing in solidarity with the students and families affected by the NEET controversy," Maity added.
The protesters also observed a minute of silence in memory of students who they said had lost their lives amid the pressures surrounding competitive examinations.
Holding placards and raising slogans, students demanded transparency in the conduct of national entrance examinations and called for Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
In Mangaluru, hundreds of students marched from Hampankatta Circle to Town Hall, carrying placards reading, "You can silence a voice, not a generation," "The future of our youth deserves justice," and "Don't settle for a corrupt system."
Throughout the demonstrations, participants raised slogans demanding justice and urged the government to restore confidence in the examination system.
The protests in Karnataka were part of a wider wave of demonstrations held across India, with students expressing concerns over the credibility of competitive examinations and calling for systemic reforms to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability.
