"This isn't Delhi. This isn't a metro city. Look at the state of our protest site. There is water everywhere, and students have stood firm all night in the rain," said Devashish, as he turned his camera towards the open grounds of the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the site of the students' protest in Ranchi.
The eldest of three siblings from a farming family, Devashish said that for him, a government job meant the upliftment of his siblings and ageing parents.
"We hoped it would help pull my father out of his lifelong struggle against the heat, the rain, and the hardships of farming. But instead of rescuing him from that struggle, we ourselves have become trapped in new ones," he said.
Devashish's story resonates with scores of students who have taken to the streets across Jharkhand in the past several days against paper leaks and repeated irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
"Take the JSSC CGL, for example. Over the last 10 years, application forms have been filled out six or seven times," he said.
On 29 July, various groups of students protesting in different parts of Jharkhand decided to converge in Ranchi for a 'Constitution March' to draw the government's attention, which, according to students, had until then remained largely unresponsive.
But for many, Devashish said, being able to protest is itself a privilege.
"Some students work part-time in malls, while others give tuition classes just to survive and pay the application fees. The hardships are immense. Some even work as Zomato or Swiggy delivery partners just to afford the cost of travelling to exam centres," he said.
In this interview, Devashish narrates the years of struggle faced by Jharkhand's youth, which have now converged into anger on the streets.
What first motivated you to pursue a government job?
My parents are farmers. We are three brothers and one sister, and I am the eldest. The responsibility of supporting the family, financially, morally, and socially, rests on my shoulders.
We knew we had no capital. The son of a farmer grows up battling the heat, the rain, and rocky land. From childhood, we are taught to fight against the odds. As axes cut through trees and spades and mattocks struck stones, we were always told that we belonged to the working class, and that hard work was the only way we could achieve anything.
That's why we believed a government job would be a blessing for us. It required little investment, and we had the knowledge to prepare for it. We hoped it would help pull my father out of his lifelong struggle against the heat, the rain, and the hardships of farming. But instead of rescuing him from that struggle, we ourselves have become trapped in new ones.
What has your journey as a government job aspirant been like over the years?
The struggle is such that there was the JSSC CGL exam. That exam was held in 2024. We board a train or a bus, travel all the way to the exam centre, pay the fare, and then the next day we find out the exam has been cancelled.
Whenever exams are held in Jharkhand, just look around. You'll find students sleeping on the floor everywhere. I think the maximum pocket money most students here receive is around ₹3,000 to ₹3,500. And in this era of rising prices, that amount is enough for neither room rent nor food. Some students work part-time in malls, while others give tuition classes just to survive and pay the application fees. The hardships are immense. Some even work as Zomato or Swiggy delivery partners just to afford the cost of travelling to exam centres.
Many don't even have enough money to buy train tickets and have to borrow it. They plead that they cannot afford the journey to the exam centre and are only able to travel after receiving financial help. Whenever exams are held, just visit the railway stations. Guest houses may remain empty, but the railway stations are packed with students. Carrying nothing more than a towel, a cloth wrap, and some sattu and finger millet flour from home, they set out to take their exams.
Then, after all that, you discover the paper has been leaked. Or your exam is scheduled for the next day, but you don't even know if it will actually take place. After spending all your savings to travel, everything is lost. And worst of all, the students' morale is completely shattered.
Take the JSSC CGL, for example. Over the last 10 years, application forms have been filled out six or seven times. The application fee was initially ₹1,000, and was later reduced to ₹100. But the ₹900 difference has never been refunded to us. The exam kept getting leaked, kept getting cancelled, and in the end, recruitments were carried out in a hurry.
I'll tell you about this in detail because it's such an absurd example that you'll wonder whether it was really an examination or just a joke.
How often has this examination been cancelled or compromised, and what impact has that had on candidates like you?
The JSSC CGL examination was conducted four to five times, and the joining letters were finally issued in 2025. Even then, they were issued in haste, and only as conditional appointments. The joining letter clearly states that if any facts emerge during the CID investigation, the appointment will not be treated as permanent and can be revoked. This recruitment process was carried out amid such intense interference.
When discussions about this protest emerged, at what point did you decide that preparing for examinations alone was no longer enough and that you had to join this movement?
The intention was clear. Protests happened repeatedly. Governments changed. Some people became leaders, others became ministers. Coaching institutes also flourished—their courses kept selling, so they remained secure. But who got trapped? Students from poor families.
I realised that every time there was a protest, the issues weren't resolved; they only became more complicated. This time, we wanted to protest in a way that would force the entire system to change. Our main demand is reform. After taking an exam, we should at least know whether we failed because we needed to work harder or because someone else cheated. Today, you can't even tell whether you missed out because of merit or because of malpractice.
Just like people get trapped in poverty, students get trapped in unemployment. We think, "I missed it by just 10 marks. I'll prepare again." Then we prepare again, the paper leaks again, answers are fed to candidates, we miss the cut-off by two or four marks, and once again we tell ourselves, "I'll work harder next time." But that next time never comes.
Instead, the top two ranks are sold. How can meritorious students ever make it to the merit list? Just look at the history of the JSSC CGL. If you check its record, there have been around 15 to 20 protests just to get the examination conducted. Then there are protests to get the results declared. When irregularities come to light, there are protests demanding cancellation. It's an endless cycle.
Take this very JSSC CGL. Abhay Tiwari, an accused candidate, secured Rank 2 for the Block Supply Officer post. Then there is Anshuman Tiwari. His wife is involved. His brother-in-law is involved. It almost seems as though every topper belongs to the same family. Later, his name also appeared at the top of the PGT merit list, where he secured Rank 1.
That's when the issue escalated. If the same agency is repeatedly under scrutiny, the same candidate keeps getting selected, and members of the same family continue to clear examinations, then the problem is clearly systemic. In the JSSC CGL alone, five members of a single family cleared the examination.
Go and look at the libraries. Very few ordinary students ever get selected. My pocket money used to be ₹3,500, but there are students who don't receive any pocket money at all. Some have lost their mothers; some have lost their fathers. We have to fight for all of them. We have to fight for the future.
It isn't possible to keep protesting again and again. This isn't Delhi. This isn't a metro city. Here, our reality is different. You'll see people carrying tea or coffee in steel mugs. You'll see them bringing bags of roasted gram, puffed rice, or sattu. How long can someone survive like that? How many times can we keep protesting? There is pressure from home as well. Parents tell us, "Son, don't go. It's the farming season."
Even now, many students spend the first half of the day ploughing fields and the second half protesting. I may not personally do that, but many people standing beside me come directly from farming families. They spend the morning digging fields with mattocks and the afternoon protesting. That is our reality.
Our first demand concerns the JPSC examinations conducted by TDPL. Since the agency is tainted, every examination conducted by TDPL—including FARO and several others—should be cancelled immediately.
Our second demand is that every examination in which Abhay Tiwari, who served as a manager at TDPL, had any role should also be cancelled.
Our third demand is for systemic reforms. Examinations must be conducted on time, at regular intervals, and their cut-offs must be published. At present, we don't even get to know the cut-off marks.
I can bring thousands of students before you whose slippers are completely worn out from travelling for examinations. You'll find people eating rice with their hands because they have nothing else. For them, Pizza Hut, Domino's, or burgers are just names of shops. Among thousands of aspirants, many have never stepped inside a Domino's. That's not something I'm saying for the sake of this interview; it's the reality.
We've cried so much that there are no tears left. That is the condition we are living in.
The situation has become unbearable. Either shoot us or bring reforms, so that the next generation can say that those before them fought for their future.
The protest initially unfolded across several cities in Jharkhand. What prompted the decision to converge in Ranchi and organise a Constitution March? Did protesters feel that earlier demonstrations were not receiving an adequate response from the government?
While we were raising our demands in different ways, the state agencies would bring in the CID as a gimmick to derail the issue. And instead of uncovering the truth, what did the CID do? It engaged in a cover-up. The primary evidence was ignored, the main accused, influential politicians and ministers who could be implicated were sidelined, while small-time scapegoats were pushed to the forefront. That is what was happening.
That is why the Constitution March became necessary. If influential people are involved, they must be brought to light and exposed, because the time has come. How long are we supposed to remain victims? How many times can we keep raising the same demands in different ways?
If you're a student, an FIR is lodged against you, you're harassed. The police are sent to your home, and multiple criminal charges are slapped on you. Individual students here are facing as many as 14 charges, including non-bailable offences. Even charges as serious as attempted murder are being invoked against students here.
Since the protest gained momentum, has there been any official outreach from the government? Have you been invited for talks or negotiations?
Someone named Kumar Raja, a senior Congress leader from Ranchi, came to meet us. We spoke to him, and he said that our demands were completely legitimate. He agreed with our demand for reforms and for the cancellation of examinations that appear compromised or tainted. On behalf of the government, he assured us of full support. However, no authorised government delegation has come to speak to us directly.
Your movement has received support from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). How significant has that support been, and what role do you see it playing going forward?
Personally, I am not a supporter of anyone. I am not a fan of CJP's leaders either. But the way they have led protests and pushed for reforms at the national level in the NEET case, I welcome their support. Because this time, all citizens of India need to come together and stand in support of Jharkhand.