NEET Protests Spread Across Continents

New Delhi: Protests over the NEET paper leak and the demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation have spread beyond India, with demonstrations held in several countries and support voiced by public figures.

Protests in solidarity with students were reported in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. Members of the Indian diaspora staged demonstrations outside the Indian High Commission in London, near the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and at Indian missions in Berlin and Dublin.

The protests follow police action in Delhi against students marching towards Parliament over the examination issue.

Actor John Cusack shared an article by Arundhati Roy criticising the authorities over the handling of student protests. "Beautiful news from my favourite fellow cockroach," he said in a post on X.

Cusack had earlier supported student protests during the Citizenship Amendment Act agitation in 2019.

Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan criticised the handling of the issue, stating, “We should have listened when one child cried. Instead, we waited until far too many of our children died. A system where coaching replaces learning, anxiety replaces curiosity, and criminality replaces merit is rotten.”

He added, “A nation has failed when its children are met with barricades and batons instead of answers. @Wangchuk66, the nation will need your conscience for the journey ahead. Please end your fast. To the children of India: You are the best of us. You have done your duty. It is now time for the country to do its duty by you. May your dreams forever be bigger than our failures."

Actor Kareena Kapoor said, “The voices of young people are impossible to ignore,” adding that children deserve a system where “merit is real and effort is rewarded.” She said listening to an entire generation was “an obligation”.

Actor Alia Bhatt said, “The last few days have broken my heart and then mended it, again and again, with hope. Behind every student standing their ground is a dream, a family's hope, a journey of countless sacrifices."

She added, “Their courage humbles me. Their resolve is a mirror held up to all of us, asking whether we are truly listening to the very people who will inherit and shape this country's tomorrow. For the students. By the students. The future is theirs.”

The protests indicate widening domestic and international attention on the NEET controversy.