Jharkhand Student Protest: Hunger Strike Ends After 16 Days

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto ended his fast after the government agreed to cancel a disputed recruitment exam, but protests continue over the CBI probe demand

Jharkhand Student Protest: A student leader from Jharkhand has called off his hunger strike, which has been going on for 16 days, after the state government decided to revoke the disputed exam for recruitment to various positions. But the student agitation is yet to be called off as protesters are demanding a CBI probe into the alleged malpractices in other recruitment exams as well. Devendra Nath Mahto, who was one of the most active student leaders in this agitation, broke his fast at a Ranchi hospital in the presence of state ministers. He was admitted to the hospital a week ago due to poor health conditions while on fast.

Protests Started from July 25

The protests started on July 25 due to some allegations of impropriety in the government recruitment exams conducted. The demonstrators have been calling for more transparency in the examination process.Jobs offered by the government are still considered very lucrative in India since they offer stability and security. Each year millions of candidates apply for government recruitment exams. They prepare themselves for a very long time.There have been some allegations of question paper leakage and other forms of impropriety in various recruitment exams. Even those qualified candidates sometimes have to wait for many years.

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Examinations for Recruitment Being Investigated

Following the results of the preliminary civil services exam, the Jharkhand agitation has gained steam due to allegations of foul play made by some candidates when answer sheets leaked on the Internet posed concerns regarding the number of answers that the successful candidates gave.The government of the state canceled the preliminary examination and initiated an investigation by its CID department. Several arrests have been made during the course of the investigation including the chief of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission.However, the protesters called for cancellation of another examination, namely the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination.

Cancellation of JSSC-CGL Exam

As was reported on Monday night, the JSSC-CGL exam too would not take place.In addition, the government decided to cancel all exams conducted by the private firm, TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL) which had won the bid for conducting the exam.Moreover, the government has ordered the investigation of recruitment exams held in the state after 2014. It is yet unknown what effect it would have on the candidates who had already got selected and joined government jobs.

A committee would be formed by the state government to make reforms to the exam and recruitment process.

Students Want a CBI Probe into the Incident

As soon as this news about the cancellation of the examination was announced, people who were protesting in Ranchi rejoiced at the move.But some of those protestors have expressed their determination to continue with their agitation until a CBI probe is conducted into the incident.According to student activist Ravindra Paswan, quoted by news agency ANI, the protests would go on till a CBI probe is accepted.

Political Pressure on the Government

The prolonged protests have put additional pressure on the government, which is headed by Hemant Soren and is a coalition of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress, and other parties.The opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party, has been backing the protesting students and has been using this issue to attack the state government regarding recruitment and examination irregularities.The government's announcement has catered to one of the main demands of the protesters, while the other demand for CBI inquiry remains unfulfilled.

What Comes Next?

The inquiry into the recruitment tests held since 2014 can turn out to be a big problem in the coming weeks. The government will also need to address the concerns of candidates who have already passed their tests and joined the government  services. Currently, Devendra Nath Mahto has called off his hunger strike, but the agitation by students is continuing. The next important thing would be whether the government accepts the demand of the agitators for conducting a probe by CBI in this regard.