From Jantar Mantar to Cities Around the World, India’s Students Turned Protest Into Victory |
HfHR helped mobilize a rapid international response that echoed the creativity, diversity and decentralized organizing of the youth movement in India |
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[NEW YORK, NY ] July 25, 2026 — India’s students and job seekers have won a major victory.After 36 days of protest, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, and the government has pledged to withdraw cases filed against protesters, prevent retaliation, compensate affected families and continue negotiations over a five-point charter for reforming India’s examination system.
The victory belongs to the young people who built and sustained the movement in India. But the speed with which their struggle traveled, from Jantar Mantar to Union Square, San José City Hall, London, Dublin and cities across North America and Europe, is also part of the story. Within days of the July 20 police assault on protesters in New Delhi, students, community organizations and diaspora volunteers were organizing demonstrations, circulating footage, translating demands, contacting journalists and building connections across national borders.
Hindus for Human Rights became part of that fast-moving network, helping organize, support and publicize actions in the United States and internationally. HfHR members and partners worked across time zones with student organizers, local volunteers, civil-society groups and diaspora communities to turn concern into visible public solidarity.
The international response reflected many of the qualities that made the movement in India so powerful from the beginning: it was decentralized, inventive, youth-led, difficult to suppress and able to move faster than traditional political institutions. |
More than 500 students and community members gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in New York’s Union Square on Friday, July 24, according to organizers. Actions also took place or were announced in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, San José, Fremont, Austin, London, Dublin, Berlin, Manchester, Toronto, Vancouver and other cities. HfHR helped organize demonstrations in New York and San José, worked with members and allies participating in London and Dublin and amplified actions organized independently by students and community groups elsewhere.
This victory is a sweet demonstration of the power of India’s young people, as well as the lingering democratic possibilities in India.At the same time, there is still much to be angry about. Protesters faced horrific police brutality. The government still must follow through on the pledges they made to demonstrators. And while the cause of the students is one worth fighting for, there are many other causes yet to be fought, for voters who have been disenfranchised, Dalits and religious minorities facing religious violence, and journalists and activists who are imprisoned.
This movement should not end here. Rather, it should be the beginning of the reestablishment of plural democracy in India. |
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Interviews, Expert Analysis and Visual Resources
Because HfHR helped coordinate the rapid international solidarity response, we can connect journalists with organizers, students and participants from demonstrations in New York, San José, London, Dublin and other cities, as well as people with direct ties to the movement in India.
We can also arrange interviews with scholars, lawyers, educators, policy specialists and civil-liberties advocates who can discuss the Education Minister’s resignation, examination reform, youth unemployment, protest rights, policing, caste, interfaith organizing, diaspora solidarity and the wider political significance of the movement.
HfHR has photographs, video, speeches, protest signs and participant interviews from demonstrations across the United States and internationally, including high-resolution images and B-roll available for print, digital and broadcast use. |
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Media Contacts Faria Rehman
Campaigns & Press Relations Manager
Hindus for Human Rights
[email protected]
David Dasharath Kalal
Communications Director
Hindus for Human Rights
[email protected]
347-445-0346 |
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Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) is an education and advocacy organization rooted in the values of satya (truth), nyaya (justice), and shanti (peace). We work to advance human rights for all by opposing caste, Hindutva, religious nationalism, racism, and every form of bigotry justified in the name of faith.
With affiliates around the world and chapters across the United States, HfHR brings together secular and religious Hindus—as well as allies of every background—to build a pluralistic future grounded in dignity and equality. We pursue this mission through policy advocacy, public education, interfaith partnerships, and cultural work that lifts up liberatory traditions within Hindu thought. |
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Hindus For Human Rights
300 Paseo De Peralta
Suite 107
Santa Fe, NM 87501
United States |
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