"I cannot give up. I am the eldest child in my family, and my father is no longer alive. My mother is often unwell. I will keep trying until I get a job. And with folded hands, I appeal to Hemant Soren not to let the future of Jharkhand's youth be destroyed," said Riya Tulika Pingua, a Ranchi-based activist who has been regularly participating in the ongoing agitation by students against irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
Pingua, a JPSC aspirant who appeared in this year's examination and the backlog examination, said the cut-offs had still not been released. Speaking to The Quint in the wee hours at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium amid a heavy downpour, she said the irregularities in the examinations affected the most underprivileged students.
"This is deeply unfair to young people, especially Adivasi students, because we don't even know who is taking away our seats," she said.
"Ever since I enrolled in college, it has been my and my family's dream that I become a (government) officer. That's why I started preparing for the UPSC and JPSC. We couldn't even afford coaching classes, but somehow we paid the fees. Now, when my parents ask me why I am still unemployed, I have no answer," she said.
Pingua's struggles with these examinations echo those of scores of civil service aspirants protesting across Jharkhand, and for many, the frustration has now spilled onto the streets, with aspirants staging protests in several parts of the state. In Ranchi, the demonstration comprises students and youth from several outfits, including the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch, the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, the All India Students' Association (AISA), and the All India Students' Federation (AISF).
The protests intensified following CID investigations into the alleged irregularities, which have led to 19 arrests so far.
A Man Who Refuses to End His Hunger Strike
The protests are currently being led by two groups – one by a group of students at the JSM Stadium, and another by Devendra Mahato of the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM), who continues to be on a hunger strike and is being called by many the 'Sonam Wangchuk of Ranchi'.
However, several other students and activists are also on a hunger strike at the two protest sites. Brahmanand Kumar is one of them. A few days ago, a video of Kumar lying by the statue of Jaipal Singh Munda amid heavy rain, as fellow protesters shielded him with umbrellas, went viral on social media.
"I have said it several times in my press briefings as well. I will continue my fast unto death," said Brahmanand Kumar.
A PhD scholar from Ramgarh district, Brahmanand Kumar has been on an indefinite hunger strike in Ranchi for the past several days. Despite heavy rain, storms, and repeated requests from friends and family, he refuses to relent or end his fast despite plummeting blood pressure and deteriorating health. Brahmanand has been a victim of several irregularities in public service recruitment examinations.
Brahmanand himself was an aspirant who had appeared for the JSSC-CGL Technical examination for the post of Assistant Superintendent. The answer key released by the JSSC, Kumar claims, incorrectly marked several answers as wrong.
"After raising objections, some errors were corrected, but others were still left unchanged. Even now, the portal updates randomly, changing scores unexpectedly. After the changes, I fell below the qualifying marks," he said. He further alleged that under the revised answer key, incorrect answers were awarded zero marks instead of attracting negative marking.
A Student Who Wrote to Every Ministry in 7 Years
Inside the makeshift tent at the stadium, Vikram Kumar sits with a plethora of documents – every letter written to every ministry, every RTI he has ever filed, and every legal document he has ever accessed to demand recruitment to JPSC Assistant Engineer posts.
"The JPSC Assistant Engineer examination has been conducted only three times in 26 years — in 2007, 2013 and 2019. Since then, no recruitment notification has been issued for engineering graduates," he said, as he displayed and detailed every letter and RTI response on camera.
In 2019, just a few days after Soren took oath as Chief Minister, a group of students, along with Vikram, met him to request the expediting of recruitment to the posts. "We were given assurances, but that is all they were," he said, as he showed a picture of himself with Soren.
"We have been continuously making efforts since 2021, but no recruitment notification has been issued since 2019," he said.
Vikram even filed Right to Information (RTI) requests to inquire about the number of vacant posts, and claims that 539 positions remain unfilled to date.
"About 10,000 to 12,000 students graduate as engineers every year, but barely 1,000 positions have been advertised in the last 26 years," Vikram said.
'The Centre Bowed to the CJP...'
"Earlier, we used to hear about this only in the news, but now, with proof, the government is taking several people into custody and interrogating them," said Pankaj Dayal Sharma, another aspirant and protester.
"There isn't a single recruitment process that hasn't involved fraud or where seats haven't been sold off," he said.
Among the allegations made by students against the JPSC and JSSC are claims of tampering with OMR sheets and other examination processes, delays in the conduct of examinations and declaration of results, withholding of cut-offs, and even fraud.
"Ever since Jharkhand became a separate state in 2000, almost every recruitment examination has been marred by irregularities of one kind or another," Pingua said.
Among the protesters are many who are not aspirants themselves. Triloki, an LLB student, said he had joined in solidarity with the protests against the alleged corruption and irregularities in Jharkhand examinations.
"We have even seen news reports of paper leaks in Class 10 examinations. There is an entire syndicate behind paper leaks, against which there is massive anger among students and youth," he said.
Triloki said he was inspired by the protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against the NEET paper leaks.
"The way students forced the central government to bend in the NEET case, this movement will also force the Jharkhand government to bow down," he said.
A Staring Contest
Hemant Soren has responded to the students' protests and said that the Jharkhand government is open to talks with the protesters.
An 11-member committee of ministers and other officials has been constituted to hold official talks with the student protesters. The protesters, meanwhile, have constituted a delegation of eight students to take part in the talks.
While the government has emphasised dialogue, the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch has also listed 21 key demands, including the cancellation of multiple examinations conducted over the years by the JPSC and JSSC, and an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations of fraud and irregularities.
"Apart from conducting fair examinations, whatever else happens, at least think about us. At least do not show partiality—it shouldn't be that they take money and sell government jobs to someone or do such things," Sharma said.
Protesters say the agitation will continue until all their demands are met. AISA has called for a march to the Jharkhand Assembly on 7 August, with president Neha Bora, who protested and staged a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over the NEET paper leaks, expected to lead the march.
The protesters have also announced a separate march on 10 August to press for their demands.
(Production assistance: Anay Samarth)