India's education minister resigns after weeks of student-led protests

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of protests that demanded his removal over alleged leaks in some of the country’s most competitive entrance exams and irregularities in the education system.

Pradhan announced the decision in a post on X, handing a major victory to the “Cockroach” movement, which had spearheaded nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes. His resignation also marks the first significant concession by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to one of the most visible waves of public dissent it has faced in recent years.

The movement began more than a month ago after allegations of leaks in some of India’s biggest entrance exams. It started as a call for education reforms but has grown into a broader protest over unemployment, government accountability and economic opportunities. Students, professionals, families and activists have joined rallies in New Delhi and other cities across India.

News of Pradhan’s resignation sparked celebrations among the thousands of protesters who have camped at New Delhi’s protest site for more than a month. Many embraced each other and waved the Indian flag.

“DEMOCRACY WINS!” the Cockroach Janta Party, which launched the protest movement, wrote on X following the minister’s resignation.

The demonstrations have become one of the most persistent challenges to Modi’s government in recent years, with thousands returning to the streets even after police used tear gas and batons to disperse marchers.

Tensions escalated on Monday when police moved to disperse thousands of protesters marching toward Parliament. Several students were injured in the crackdown, intensifying anger among demonstrators.

Modi’s government had earlier sought to ease tensions by announcing fast-track courts for cases involving exam paper leaks and saying it would introduce legislation to strengthen measures against cheating and corruption in the examination system.

But protest leaders said the demonstrations would continue until Pradhan stepped down. They are also demanding broader exam reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after alleged exam paper leaks.

A protestor holds a placard with a portrait of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi draped in a saree, a traditional garment for women in India, during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Verda Subzwari)

FILE- India's Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan smiles at the end of a joint press conference in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in Mumbai, India, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A protestor holds a placard with a portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the text "Can't See Your Democracy, My Lashes are Too Long" during a demonstration demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Verda Subzwari)

Student wing activists of different political parties join in a rally demanding educational reforms as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's ongoing protest movement, in Kolkata, India, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

Ukrainian forces attacked tourist resorts in the partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region, killing eight people, Moscow-installed officials said on Saturday, while authorities in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region said a Russian drone strike killed three people.

Two children were among the eight people killed in the attack on the resorts, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed regional head, said Saturday, adding that 14 people were wounded.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the attack.

Sumy regional head Oleh Hryhorov said on Saturday three people were killed when a large fire broke out after a Russian drone struck a “civilian facility,” adding that the victims were drivers for private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.

Russia’s defense ministry said it attacked a “storage and launch site” for Ukrainian drones in the Sumy region.

In Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, a Russian drone attack late Friday hit a shopping center, causing a fire that spread over a 500-square-meter area and injuring several people, regional head Ivan Fedorov said.

A major Russian attack on Friday on a site hosting a defense industry event near Kyiv killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 100 others.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in his evening address on Friday that intelligence assessments indicated that Russia was preparing missiles for a large attack, saying there were indications that this could happen in the next 48 hours.

On Saturday, Romania’s defense ministry said its forces “safely shot down” a drone that breached its airspace in an “unpopulated area” near the Ukrainian border. The drone was “shot down by a Romanian pilot from an F-16 aircraft,” President Nicușor Dan said in a post on Facebook.

Saturday’s interception came after a drone was shot down around Padina, northeast of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Friday.

A series of drone incursions by Russia and Ukraine have hit Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at the Black Sea port of Constanta, while three other sea drones exploded outside the port. No one was hurt.

A Russian drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine in May went astray and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks on before his meeting with Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, shows the site of Russian missile strikes in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Friday, July 24, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, shows the site of Russian missile strikes in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Friday, July 24, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)