No azadi slogans, Hinduphobia, abuses or stone pelting: How Jharkhand student protests achieved success without going the CJP way

· OpIndia

The Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand has accepted several major demands of protesting students after weeks of agitation over alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations. While the protests are to continue until the government agrees to the demand for a CBI investigation, the Jharkhand student protests stand in sharp contrast to the so-called student protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi.

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The JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand has announced the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and has decided to scrap all examinations and recruitment-related activities conducted by Lucknow-based TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), including results that have already been declared.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren has also announced a wider investigation into recruitment examinations conducted in Jharkhand since 2014. The government said that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will investigate irregularities, whether they are considered “big or small”. In addition, the state will form an examination reforms committee headed by senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal. The committee will recommend measures to make the recruitment system more transparent and prevent irregularities in the future.

However, despite the government’s announcements, the protesting students have not agreed to call off their agitation. Their main demand now is a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The announcement came on 17th August, when the student protest had entered its 24th day. It also came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren to personally meet representatives of the protesting students and resolve their grievances. Gandhi described the students’ demands as legitimate and their agitation as peaceful, adding further political pressure on the JMM-led government to address the issue.

How the Jharkhand student protest began

The student agitation began on 25th July, 2026, in Ranchi. Students and government-job aspirants gathered at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to protest against alleged paper leaks, corruption and irregularities in recruitment examinations.

Among their major concerns were alleged irregularities in the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) Civil Services Examination, the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination and other recruitment tests conducted by the state.

The students demanded reforms in the examination system, action against those responsible for alleged irregularities and, most importantly, a CBI investigation. The JSSC-CGL examination became one of the central issues of the agitation after allegations surrounding the leaking of question papers in 2024.

For weeks, the students continued their protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium. They maintained that their movement was about the future of students and job aspirants and should remain independent of political parties and outside organisations.

During the Vidhan Sabha Gherao on 10th August, the police lathicharged protesting students, leaving dozens injured. The police’s lathis could not deter the students.

A protest different from the CJP agitation in Delhi

What also makes the Jharkhand agitation notable is the manner in which the students conducted their protest, particularly when compared with the controversial protests organised by the so-called CJP group at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

The Jharkhand students’ movement remained focused primarily on recruitment examinations, government jobs and alleged irregularities in the examination system. Despite continuing for several weeks, the protesters largely kept their demands centred on these issues.

The contrast has been drawn particularly over the conduct and slogans associated with the two protests.

Unlike the CJP protesters who directed abusive remarks toward PM Modi and his mother during the student protest in Delhi, the student protesters in Jharkhand conducted their demonstration respectfully without abusing Chief Minister Hemant Soren or his family.

Unlike the CJP protesters who engaged in stone-pelting and clashed with security forces, the Jharkhand students did not resort to violence or attack police personnel.

Another notable difference was that there were no anti-India or anti-Hindu slogans raised, such as “Azaadi-Azaadi” or “Brahmanwad se Azaadi”, as in the CJP protests and in some left-oriented protest spaces. The Jharkhand students instead kept their focus on examination reforms, recruitment transparency and government jobs.

The difference is significant because student protests can often become broader political movements, with their original demands getting mixed with ideological or partisan issues. In Jharkhand, however, the students appeared determined to keep their movement focused on recruitment examinations.

There was also no visible effort to turn the protest into social media reels or political branding. The movement remained centred strictly on the core issues of students and government-job aspirants.

The Jharkhand protest presented a very different picture from the CJP protests in Delhi. While the Delhi protests attracted attention for their political and ideological rhetoric, the Jharkhand students repeatedly stressed that their agitation was about examinations, recruitment and their employment prospects.

Jharkhand protesters push AISA chief Neha Bora off stage

The students’ determination to keep political and ideological organisations away from their movement became particularly clear on 7th August, when All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora had joined the protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to express solidarity with students demanding action over alleged irregularities in JPSC, JSSC-CGL and other competitive examinations.

Her presence was not welcomed by sections of the protesters.  

Neha Bora was heckled and pushed off the stage while she was addressing the protesting students and job seekers. The incident highlighted the students’ repeated position that their movement should remain free from political parties and outside organisations.

The reaction was significant because AISA is associated with the left student movement. Instead of allowing an outside student organisation to take a prominent role, sections of the Jharkhand protesters made it clear that they wanted to control the direction and messaging of their own agitation.

The incident also demonstrated that the students’ opposition was not limited to the state government. They were equally unwilling to allow their protest to be turned into a platform for another political or ideological campaign.

The students’ response to Bora therefore became another defining feature of the agitation. Their message was that the movement was about recruitment examinations and the future of government-job aspirants, rather than about promoting any political ideology.

Government concedes, students want a CBI probe

The Jharkhand government’s latest announcement is a major development in the 24-day-long agitation. Cancelling the JSSC-CGL examination, scrapping TDPL-related recruitment activities and ordering an investigation into recruitment examinations dating back to 2014 represent significant concessions.

Soren has also promised an examination reforms committee under Amitabh Kaushal to examine how the recruitment process can be made more transparent and prevent future irregularities.

However, the students are not satisfied yet. Their insistence on a CBI investigation means that the agitation is likely to continue until they receive a commitment on their central demand.

The Jharkhand protest has therefore emerged as an example of a student movement that has remained focused on recruitment examinations while attempting to stay away from political and ideological organisations. Its contrast with the CJP protests in Delhi has also become an important part of the public discussion surrounding the agitation.

For the students, the issue is ultimately about fair examinations, transparent recruitment and government jobs. The state government’s decision has addressed several of their demands, but whether it will be enough to end the protest will depend largely on whether the government agrees to their demand for a CBI investigation.

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