As a creative mark of protest, members of the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) continue to pretend to cry at the protest site in Jantar Mantar. Their message is simple: the education system is dead. The performance is part of the weeks-long protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which is demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protest, now in its sixth day of hunger strike, is taking place amid heavy security. Dressed as a dead body, KYS members carried a mannequin, placed it on the ground and formed a circle around it to perform a mock funeral.
The display was labelled "शिक्षा व्यवस्था का शव" (the corpse of the education system). The protesters cried together, "The education system is dead. What will we do now?"
The performance has drawn attention both at the site and on social media. Even some elderly people were part of the protest. The total number of protesters was around 300.
The protest site featured distinct groups working alongside each other with shared interests. The CJP, which started the movement against the education system, is also actively running its own campaign. To keep the protest site productive, a few students are setting up a temporary library for people to read and study as they continue to distribute food and water.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke kept himself actively engaged by listening to the participants in the protest. As he was guarded with barricades, he allowed access to youngsters to share their opinions on stage.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose health is visibly deteriorating, said to the protesters, "I am on a hunger strike to awaken the people."
Prominent social activist and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) co-founder Nikhil Dey also joined to express solidarity.
The protesters are also battling the unpredictable Delhi weather, and to tackle the sudden rains, they have put up blue plastic polythene sheets, holding them up with their hands over the stage area to stay dry, while other participants stand in the adjacent pathways.
The Delhi Police have heavily secured the area, setting up tight checkpoints with infrared bag scanners similar to those used in metro stations. Despite the strict security, community support remains strong, and the barricades are placed to separate the general audience from the protesters on the stage.
While Wangchuk's supporters receive immense online backing on social media from people tracking his health, the ground reality is intensely focused on policy and political accountability.
The core demands of the protesters are clear: the immediate resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a quick solution to the NEET-UG paper leak, and justice for students who tragically committed suicide due to the crisis.
Protesters firmly state that the movement will not stop until these demands are met.
However, the protest faces growing internal criticism regarding its political direction. Some participants are frustrated that the core message has shifted away from the student crisis toward a broader political battle.
Among them are two women residents from Delhi who have taken complete leaves of absence from their jobs to camp out at the site full-time.
"We cannot just watch this happen from our offices," one of the Delhi residents explained.
Rakesh Sharma, a military service member who came all the way from Uttarakhand specifically to support the student cause, expressed his disappointment. "The organisers are targeting an entire political party rather than focusing directly on the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, or demanding a concrete solution to the paper leaks that have disrupted the last 20 days," Rakesh said. "Because they shifted focus away from the NEET-UG paper leak specifically, this strike might fail and end soon. I came for the protest, but after seeing this, I don't know what to say."
Protesters also actively questioned members of the media present at the site, accusing mainstream networks of maintaining a passive response to the ongoing educational crisis.
