Pradhan's Resignation Turns Street Protests Into Celebrations in Hyderabad

The National Flag and placards filled the road as Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy led a march from People’s Plaza to the Indira Gandhi statue, while a separate student gathering near the old Ambedkar statue on the Liberty side noted that Pradhan’s resignation was a beginning, not closure.

Crowds spread from People’s Plaza along Necklace Road and Tank Bund towards the Secretariat as the evening progressed. Vehicles remained blocked at several points with long stretches to people walking with the Tricolour, placards and copies or images of the Constitution.

“This is accountability for us. We are millennials, but we are here to support Gen Z and the future of the next generation,” Manoj Kumar, who came with his wife, said. “This is a jovial moment, but this is not the end.” Abdul Alam, who had draped himself in the National Flag and carried another in his hand, shared the relief but placed the students first. “It feels good. This is the first time there has been a resignation. This was a big win for the students,” he said.

Revanth Reddy’s march had originally been announced in solidarity with the students and against the police action at Jantar Mantar. But by the time he addressed the gathering, Pradhan had stepped down and the mood had changed.

Akhil watched the fireworks at People’s Plaza — marking 100 years of fireworks — begin as the Chief Minister’s address ended and summed up the feeling around him as he said, “Democracy mubarak ho.”

Azeeb, Zaid, Shoaib and Raheem stood together at Tank Bund with the Tricolour and spoke about both the street protests and the online campaign that accompanied them. One of them, a businessman, said the country finally seemed to be moving in the right direction and that the protests had exposed the incompetence of those in power.

The group had doubted that the campaign would succeed, but now hoped it would set a precedent and make governments think twice before dismissing students.

Their celebration came with jokes about the memes that took the protest through social media. Azeeb laughed as he said they had been “chronically online” and that even comedian Samay Raina deserved some credit for the mood of the campaign.

They had watched Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late-night selfie-style videos, including his switch from “mitron” to “friends”, and joked about the changed accent.

Behind the laughter was a political reading of what had happened. “This is about justice, not left and right. This is collective anger,” they said, adding that the victory belonged to Abhijeet Dipke, Sonam Wangchuk, students and young people, rather than any political party.

A separate group of students near the old Ambedkar statue on the Liberty side made the same distinction more directly. Around 200 people were present by an estimate at the site, many of them associated with the CJP. Flags flew beside portraits of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and the Constitution, and some students climbed the structure as the gathering became celebratory. “We were supposed to be here to protest, but the mood has become celebratory instead,” Amit R. said. “This is just the beginning. A long road lies ahead. The entire system needs to change.”