The discontent among India’s youth and the courage to voice it on the streets spread to other parts of the country.
Somaya Korde was detained at home after urging people online to join a 20 July protest in Mumbai, but went on to attend multiple demonstrations in the days that followed.
Pradhan’s resignation, says the 26-year-old, “is not the end, but just the beginning”.
“For this generation, this is the first time many of us have stepped out to protest. But there are larger issues to talk about, and we will talk about them,” she says.
Korde, the first woman in her family to graduate in law and a recent civic election candidate, comes from a community officially classified as “backward” because of its historic social and economic disadvantage.
Like many young Indians, she saw education as her path to a better life, but says the NEET paper leak shattered her faith in a system that promised hard work would be rewarded.
“Schools and colleges are being privatised, paper leaks are happening, even if you finish education, there are not enough jobs. In a democracy, all this raises questions of accountability against the government,” she says.
