"Ranchi's Jantar Mantar movement..."
"Devendra Nath Mahto is the new Sonam Wangchuk..."
"Protest politics reaches from Delhi to Ranchi..."
While the country focussed on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement's success in the national capital on 25 July, following the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, another student movement began in the capital city of Jharkhand, Ranchi, on a much smaller scale, against public service examinations in the state that have been riddled with irregularities for the past two decades.
While scores of media outlets and influencers cannot refrain from calling it Ranchi's CJP moment, most students on the ground have one sentiment to share: "Ye Dilli nahi hai, Sir... (This isn't Delhi, Sir)."
The sentiments of students behind both movements are similar in so many ways, and yet, the two movements are significantly different in terms of their representation, their politics, their demands and their leadership.
The Delhi movement was being led by a clear line of leadership, with Abhijeet Dipke as its face. The leadership of the movement in Ranchi, however, is not as clearly defined.
If one is consuming the movement largely via social media posts and reels, it is not immediately evident that the protest site itself has two separate groups, with two different stages – one led by Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto, and another by a students' group under the banner of JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch.
What also may not be immediately evident is that, on the ground, the students' wings of the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties have openly and unequivocally extended support to the protesting students.
The movement, however, began very differently.
Most seem to be looking to leverage these issues. However, the pressure that the differing groups on the ground have managed to exert on the Hemant Soren government is significant, with the government now finding itself in quite a fix.
Who, then, is leading the movement that has kept the Hemant Soren government on edge?
Whose Protest Is It?
At the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, it did not always begin as two separate protests.
"Several aspirants like us gave the first call for protests in Hazaribagh," claims Jeevan Kumar Yadav, one of the spokespersons of the Reform Manch.
"The local JLKM leaders in Hazaribagh district reached out to us and said that we all must work together for the students. We agreed, so that the strength of the students does not get divided," he said.
"We, however, just had one condition: that the movement must be led by students and not by any political outfit, including the JLKM. We also said that the involvement of Devendra Nath Mahto must be minimal," he said.
Yadav said that he, along with 300 students, landed in Ranchi to organise the movement. On 29 July, the day of the students' first march, Mahto told the media that he was "handing over the movement to the students."
The first core committee that was formed comprised students as well as those associated with the JLKM. Yadav alleges that those associated with the JLKM were influenced by the party leadership during decision-making.
"Many of their party members and leaders started occupying the protest stage meant only for students. It was sending a wrong message. The last straw was when one of their senior leaders refused to leave the state, and we were told that the stage belongs to JLKM. That's when we decided to separate," Yadav said.
The JLKM, however, has a different take on the separation.
Chandan Kumar, a close confidant of Mahto, said that some students in the movement have "vested interests".
"Mahto had written letters to the chief minister regarding irregularities in the first week of July itself. On 25 July, he started the movement from Bapu Vatika and successfully led the first march on 25 July," Kumar said.
"There were some who had vested interests of their own, there were some who wanted to provide mileage to one particular party. That divided the students," he said.
The Narrative Wars By Students' Wings of Political Parties
The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the students' wing of the Indian National Congress; the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); and the All India Students' Association (AISA), a student organisation affiliated with the CPI(ML) Liberation, are among the several students' organisations that have openly extended their support to the movement.
The Congress party, an ally of CM Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), has also been actively involved in deliberations with the government.
However, many feel that no political outfit should be allowed to take credit for or take over the movement.
"Where was the Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) when students sat for two months in Delhi? Why did it take the Congress over 10 days to openly support us in Ranchi? I have attended both protests and I have seen how political parties only look out for themselves. They don't care about any students anywhere. All they care about is their image," said Ashok Kumar from Hazaribagh.
Both the BJP and the Congress have come out openly in support of the movement on social media, as well as on the ground. AISA members have also set up a separate camp by the entrance of the venue. However, neither the Reform Manch nor the JLKM has sought the support of any other political party so far.
"This is a students' movement. We welcome moral support from all student bodies on the ground. But they must leave their ideology, party flags and banners outside the venue, and support us in the capacity of students," Yadav said.
Kumar, too, asserted that no political party should attempt to take credit for the movement. However, certain stances by all three outfits have not gone down well with the protesters.
The protesting camps have also been disappointed with the government engaging with the student wings of political parties.
"Why are you taking a memorandum from NSUI? What is NSUI? NSUI is the student wing of the Congress. What demands will it make from the government? And if it is making demands, why are we not seeing NSUI on the streets?" asked stdent leader Ravindra Paswan on Saturday.
The NSUI is reportedly on board with every demand of the protesters, except the demand for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"The BJP has already used the CBI to throw Hemant Soren in prison once in a bid to make the state government fall. How can he be expected to agree to it?" a Ranchi-based NSUI member said on the condition of anonymity.
Members of the ABVP, meanwhile, clashed with the police near CM Soren's residence on 8 August
Many in both camps of protesters also expressed disappointment over AISA's "attempts to hijack the movement". The march announced by AISA to the Vidhan Sabha on 6 August has been seen by both camps of protesters as a bid to "seek momentum".
"They did well in the CJP movement, I agree. But that doesn't give them the right to try and hijack our struggle. We very much appreciate and welcome their moral support, but it should be limited to that," Yadav said.
The CBI Probe Contention
After meeting delegations from both protesting camps on Sunday, the Jharkhand government agreed to most of the demands, including the cancellation of three examinations – the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) backlog 2023 examination, the JPSC backlog 2025 examination and the 14th JPSC preliminary examination.
The government also agreed to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into alleged financial irregularities related to the 14th JPSC examination and establishing fast-track courts to hear cases related to examination irregularities and paper leaks.
On Sunday, the Governor also accepted the resignation of three JPSC members, as demanded by the students – Ajeeta Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda and Jamal Ahmad.
However, disagreements remained over the proposed investigation into the JSSC-CGL examination. While students have demanded the cancellation of the examination, the state government reportedly proposed a high-level judicial probe headed by a retired judge.
Among the demands that the government did not agree to were the cancellation of all examinations conducted by the TDPL testing agency and a probe by the CBI.
Both protesting camps, however, remained adamant about their demand for a CBI probe.
Many expected for a resolution to be reached before the scheduled Vidhan Sabha Gherao march scheduled for 10 August. However, with the government reportedly refusing to agree to some demand including a CBI probe, thousands are expected to join the march on Monday.
Meanwhile, CM Soren addressed the protesters at an event organised to celebrate World Indigenous Peoples' Day and said that the youth must not be "misguided by political parties".
"Young students are currently staging protests regarding certain issues. I want to send a clear and open message to all students, a message I always convey – that we operate a vast system, and our intentions regarding the people of this State have always been deeply sensitive," Soren said. He was accompanied by his wife and Gandey MLA Kalpana Soren.
"We are concerned about the well-being of everyone, whether they are farmers, labourers, women, educated youth or people with little or no formal education," Soren said, adding that the government was listening to the grievances of the youth currently protesting.
He appealed to the students to have faith in the government and said the protest should not be viewed through a political lens. "We were born of this soil and will be laid to rest in this very soil," he said, warning that the political ambitions of some individuals could create an opportunity for political parties to mislead the youth.
Addressing the protesting students directly, Soren said they did not need the patronage of any political party, including his own. "You are students, you have rights," he said, adding that ensuring those rights and delivering justice was the government's responsibility.