How India’s government can be a good parent to its young people

The resignation of Indian education minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month, yielding to pressure from the “cockroach” youth protests, was an example of democracy in action.Outraged over the leaking of the medical school entrance exam question paper, protesters, led by a group calling itself the Cockroach Janata Party, demanded accountability and reforms. At least 20 young people had taken their own lives after a retest for the medical entrance exam was announced, underlining how such exams have become life-or-death affairs, providing many young people with a rare chance of economic security in India’s hypercompetitive job market.In both India and China, education is often a key pathway to social mobility. In social systems with perceived inequalities, fair admissions to elite higher education institutions are a safety valve for social discontent. Undermining that valve led to predictable social consequences in India.