In Jharkhand, students have gone on a hunger strike over suspicions regarding state exams
In Ranchi, the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand, students and job seekers have been protesting against the state examination system since July 25. Some of the protesters are living outdoors on the grounds of a stadium, and dozens of people have gone on a hunger strike, according to BBC News.
The immediate trigger was the preliminary round of the civil service exam, which was held in April. After the results were released in July, candidates claimed that answer sheets allegedly leaked on social media showed that some successful candidates had answered far fewer questions than expected.
According to the protesters, this may indicate that the results were manipulated. They are demanding that the April exam be canceled and re-administered, and that the case be referred to India’s federal Central Bureau of Investigation. The Jharkhand Department of Criminal Investigations is verifying the candidates’ claims.
The state’s Civil Service Commission has postponed the next stage of the exam. Its chairman, L. Khiaangte, resigned on July 22; he was questioned as part of the investigation. Investigators are also examining the role of a private company that handled part of the procedures during the exam, after candidates questioned the process by which it was selected.
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Jharkhand Minister Dipika Pandey Singh told the BBC that authorities had launched an investigation even before the current protests began. She urged the protesters to wait for the local CID to complete its investigation rather than demand that the case be transferred to the CBI, and expressed her willingness to discuss with the protesters the cancellation of the April exam.
Protesters are demanding not only an investigation into the circumstances of this one exam, but also an inquiry into possible irregularities during civil service recruitment, the completion of stalled recruitment processes, and the conduct of regular, transparent exams. The protests have been supported by the state’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, which is part of the Jharkhand government.
The protesters formed an 11-member delegation to negotiate with the authorities, but as of Friday, a formal meeting had not yet taken place. The protest was also supported by the independent youth movement Cockroach Janta Party, which had previously organized large-scale protests in Delhi over leaked exam materials.
