Indian students step up exam protests in Jharkhand

Indian students marched towards the state assembly in Jharkhand on Monday, escalating protests over alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations, with several students also on hunger strike.

Protests in Ranchi, capital of the eastern state home to more than 33 million people, began on July 29, days after a youth-led "cockroach" movement in New Delhi forced the resignation of the national education minister.

At least six protesters are on hunger strike, including student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, 33, who has been fasting for more than a week.

"We want the whole system to change," Mahto said, as quoted by Indian media, demanding an end to the use of a private company that conducts tests for state civil service.

On Monday, hundreds of police guarded the assembly behind barbed-wire barricades, after repeated talks between the protesters and the state government failed to reach an agreement.

Large crowds of students chanting slogans marched towards the state assembly.

The protesters are demanding the cancellation of several examinations conducted by a private company on behalf of the state government, as well as an investigation by federal police into their conduct.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has sought to defuse the protests by accepting some demands, while several members of the civil service body overseeing the examinations have stepped down.

"Every problem can be resolved through dialogue," Soren said in a speech on Sunday.

The New Delhi protesters, organised by the online Cockroach Janta Party, rallied for 36 days over alleged failures in India's examination system, before the then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down -- giving the movement an unusual victory and turning examination integrity into a major political issue.

The Jharkhand protests echo those demands, reflecting wider frustration among young Indians who see government examinations as a key route to employment in a country where millions compete for limited public-sector jobs.

The New Delhi protests challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, but the Jharkhand rallies are demanding change from the state government, which stands in opposition to the BJP.