Indian student says ‘Pakistani agent’ tag was used to stifle protest

An Indian student who joined a 23-day hunger strike during the recent youth protests in Delhi has criticised the branding of demonstrators as “Pakistani agents”, calling it a way to shut down dissent.

Neha Bora, who was among thousands gathered at Jantar Mantar, said students protesting for their rights were being painted with that label to delegitimise their movement. She also linked the rhetoric to earlier accusations levelled against people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

She said, “Today, when students are protesting for their rights, they are being called ‘Pakistani agents’.” Referring to Kashmir, Bora added that people had remained silent over bullets there, and that “now those bullets have reached Connaught Place in Delhi”. She further said, “Now people have realised that earlier allegations were false.”

The demonstration was later called off after the education minister resigned and the government promised to accept all of the protesters’ demands. Ashutosh Ranka, a spokesman for the CJP, said those demands also included compensation for people affected by examination irregularities and the withdrawal of legal cases against protesters.

After days of youth-led protests over exam paper leaks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a task force to revamp the country’s examination system. The panel will be headed by tech entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani.

Modi said on Instagram, “Our examination system should be trustworthy, should be transparent, and the system should make maximum use of technology,” adding that new legislation to deal with paper leaks would be introduced in parliament on Monday.