Listen To Youth Call For Reforms

As Sonam Wangchuk ends his fast and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) creates history by compelling Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the Prime Minister Barendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government to resign, I remember my visit to Ladakh. I can see how educated young people with the zeal to reform their land can indeed do so if they continuously stick to their agenda, no matter how much pressure the governing forces exert on them. Although Wangchuk’s protests against the BJP-led government began long before the CJP existed, the recent combination of the engineer-turned-activist from Ladakh and the agitation demonstrated by CJP members indicates that enough is enough in their country, and they will not sit back until reform happens.

While people across India are celebrating the success of the youth-led CJP movement, together with Sonam Wangchuk’s support for reforming the education system in the country, conspiracy theories are also being circulated in the Indian mass media. For the first time, a minister in the Modi-led BJP coalition government has resigned, and Prime Minister Modi has committed to bringing legislation to address examination paper leaks in the country. Yet, conspiracy theories are being circulated that the Cockroach Janata Party and Sonam Wangchuk himself are agents of Western countries.

Conspiracy theories

Similar conspiracy theories are also afloat in Nepal, where the Gen Z revolution and what happened afterwards have been described by some as being triggered by the vested interests of other countries. Why do these conspiracy theories float around? Do they have concrete evidence? Do established parties believe that new-generation, youth-led parties like the Cockroach Janata Party of India and the Rastriya Swatantra Party of Nepal cannot do anything on their own and must always be led by external forces?

Apart from the natural beauty of Himalayan region of Ladakh, including Pangong Lake, the highlight of the visit was a trip to an amazing school where students who had failed their 10th-grade examinations were admitted. This school, SECMOL, is based near the beautiful village of Phey in Ladakh. Wangchuk started a movement in Ladakh to reform the education system there and established the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) in 1988 to address the high failure rates among Ladakhi students and revamp the traditional education system in the region.

It was a wonderful experience to see how this school addressed the needs of students from remote parts of the region who were seen as failures and who were believed to be unable to lead a dignified life. Our first introduction to the school was through a video by Sonam Wangchuk, who explained in simple words how we can help protect the planet by sleeping early and waking up early to save electricity, among many other simple and effective things that we can all do.

The students there took us around the school. We encountered structures built using traditional mud bricks. The whole compound is eco-friendly and powered entirely by solar energy. There are innovative structures created to store grains and vegetables, while the educational classrooms are far removed from traditional classrooms. Through experiential learning, sustainability and culturally relevant education, the children in this school learn all that is required of high school students.

In fact, SECMOL now has a number of graduates who have been leading happy and successful lives. During our visit, the students informed us that the graduates were involved in many professions, including entrepreneurship and farming. The most important thing was that they were able to earn a dignified living, regardless of their economic or social status. There were also Nepali students at the school who were very happy and took me around after they learned that I came from Nepal.

The CJP started off as a satirical movement after a senior judge in India called unemployed Indian youth cockroaches. Since June, the CJP has been sitting in Delhi, protesting against the leakage of examination papers and voicing the need for reform of the educational system in India. Wangchuk, who has been actively calling for education reform in India and raising his voice for the people of Ladakh, supported the CJP by going on a fast and calling the government’s attention to the need to listen to the CJP’s protests. Thousands of people joined the CJP’s protests in the capital city of India, making it a phenomenal event for the Modi-led coalition government.

India has been seen as a torchbearer of democracy in South Asia. However, during the three terms that the Modi-led BJP coalition has been ruling India, people’s movements and demands for human rights, expressed through street protests, have slowly been curbed and have now almost stopped. The CJP protests, which began in June this year, together with Wangchuk’s fast, have yielded what the majority of democratic Indian citizens were craving for. The protests ended after the education minister resigned following weeks of demonstrations, and soon afterwards, Wangchuk ended his 26-day fast.

Displays of dissent

The protests in India have been seen as one of the biggest displays of dissent against Modi’s government. The demonstrations were not limited to Delhi but spread nationwide. However, accusing people like Wangchuk in India, together with the leaders and members of the CJP, of being agents of Western countries is a slap in the face of young people exercising their constitutional rights to demand change. In fact, when youth movements are labelled as being led by external agents by established parties that are themselves accused of corruption and undemocratic actions, several questions arise about the intentions of those making such accusations against youth movements as foreign-led.

Today’s age is about ensuring that the older generation clears the road for young people to take over while sharing their experience and knowledge to help improve the nation. All over South Asia, there are revolts by young people against established systems. It is time to listen to them, respect their voices and not curb their enthusiasm.

(Sharma is a senior journalist and rights advocate. namrata1964@yahoo.com X handle: NamrataSharmaP)