WWW.InDIAneXPReSS.coM Adding Culture to Milk mumbai to shimla, meet the makers leading the artisanal cheese boom in india, wooing consumers with infusions of wild-foraged cumin, onion flowers, nuts and raisins lUcknow, JUly 26, 2026 screen Musafir Cafe explores desire, ambition and why ordinary relationships deserve extraordinary storytelling LATe cITy 14+4 PAGeS ₹6.00 D A I L y f R o M : A h M e D A b A D , c h A n D I G A R h , D e L h I , j A I P u R , K o L K A T A , L u c K n o W , M u M b A I , n A G P u R , P A T n A , P u n e , V A D o D A R A Cockroaches won... Democracy won! Students’ struggle has borne fruit’ ‘For BJP workers, country, youth, students more important than any post CoCkroaCh janta party Amit ShAh, Union home minister JantarMantar isheard,Pradhan isout Democracy instapolitics: 2 months old, born online from a Cji jibe, Cjp mobilised Gen Z to change a law — and a minister Business as usual By ep Unny politics Page 7 oPPosition may end house siege, keeP heat on govt over education reforms new anti-PaPer leak Bill: sPecial task force to ProBe cases in 2 months BJP leaders hail Pradhan for contriButions as education minister Protesters celebrate after Union education minister dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation, at Jantar mantar in new delhi on saturday. PRAVeen KhAnnA Will not let youth fall ‘We have done it,’ Dipke breaks prey to confusion, says news as Cjp calls off protest pradhan; pralhad joshi says country’s youth will talk about gets education charge education, employment, the future Jatin Anand, liz mathew, sophiya mathew & Divya A sophiya mathew & Abhimanyu hazarika BRiNGiNGTOanendthemore than month-long student protest in the heart of the Capital that had captivated public attention and heated up politics, Union Education Minister DharmendraPradhanresigned Saturday, sparking wild celebrations at the Jantar Mantar protest venue. As the government also accepted its other demands of no legal proceedings against the protesters and compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who ended their lives after thepaperleakinMay,theCockroachJantaParty,whichspearheaded the protest, called off the stir. Asking supporters to leave the protest venue and return to their homes, CJP founder AbhijeetDipkesaidPradhan’sresignation, their main demand, demonstrated the power of a united youth movement. “The worldbowsdown,andonewho makes it bow is needed,” he said. He listed the names of the students who died by suicide and said, “These are the FOR A moment, it did not register. Then Abhijeet Dipke, founderoftheCockroachJanta Party (CJP), sank to his knees, overcome by shock and joy, realising that Education MinisterDharmendraPradhanhad New Delhi, July 25 happening today lThe Army willhost a wreathlaying ceremony at the Kargil War Memorial in Dras, Ladakh, to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in 1999. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Army chief General Dhiraj Seth and Ladakh L-G V K Saxena will be among those attending the ceremony. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com the world Page 11 houthis fire missiles at saudi araBia, targets oil site New Delhi, July 25 dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation in an open letter posted on X childrenwhohavereceivedjustice today.” Pradhan’s resignation and the end of the protest cleared thedecksforthegovernmentto return to Parliament Monday with a new Bill to ensure swift and stringent punishment to those involved in exam paper leaks.ThedraftBillwascleared by the Union Cabinet Friday, hoursafterPrimeMinisterNarendra Modi, in a midnight video post, announced the formation of fast-track courts and a tough new law. in an open letter announcinghisresignation—heposted it on X — Pradhan said, “We »cOnTinUeD On PAGe 2 resigned. Rising to address students and volunteers who had spent 36 days with him at the protest site, Dipke said, “We have done it. We have bloody done it.” Pradhan’s resignation had been the central demand of the CJP-ledprotest.“Whatdidthey say? That there are no resignationsinthisgovernment.For36 days, every day they asked me this question… These people won’t give resignations, everyone told me.” He said Pradhan’s resignationdemonstratedthepowerof aunitedyouthmovement.“The worldbowsdown,andonewho makesitbowisneeded,”hesaid, adding that the protest had secured“justice”forstudentswho had died by suicide following the NEET paper leak. He said attempts to break their resolve had failed. “They »cOnTinUeD On PAGe 2 express special what changed in 48 hours? concerns over Parliament washout, larger stir cJP founder abhijeet dipke addresses the protesters at Jantar mantar, saturday. PTI triumph and joy at protest Ground Zero; ‘We took his resignation, (he) didn’t give it’ Tabshir shams, Pragynesh, Abhimanyu hazarika, mishal mussaddique, Kartikeya Bhattacharyya, Devansh mittal & swati Bhasin New Delhi, July 25 By 1 pm on Saturday, the loudest sound at Jantar Mantar wasnotofprotesters’chanting, but of warnings. Again and again, a police announcement van stationed at the intersection of Jai Singh Road and Tolstoy Marg repeated the same message: “Thereareelementsamongst you who are throwing stones at us. Please refrain, and remove these people. We urge you to remain peaceful.” On one side of the barricades stood personnel of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) in their battle gear and helmets. Ontheotherstoodthousands of protesters. A handful of young men surged forward. Tear gas followed. For a few minutes, the ina group of students, who were at Jantar mantar for more than 10 days, tersectiondisappearedbehind leave the venue after the cJP ended its protest, saturday. AbhInAV SAhA »cOnTinUeD On PAGe 2 sentiment on pradhan was not turning positive even after announcements of fast-track courts, harsh Bill to punish culprits Jatin Anand, shubhangi Khapre & ritika chopra New Delhi, Mumbai, July 25 JUST 48 hours before Dharmendra Pradhan quit, his resignation was not in the government’s mind, top BJP and government sources said. But the assessment onthreespecificaspects seem to have prompted theaction.One,theprotestsgainedfurthermomentum in Delhi despite police action, and spreadacrossmanycities.Two, concerns that a prolonged confrontation could wash out the entire Monsoon Session of Parliament,jeopardisingthepolitical capital spent on building support for the contentious delimitation and the women's reservation bills. Three, the government’s actions — fast track courts, shifting of higher education secretary, a Bill with harsh measures to prevent paper leaks, and sacking of 47 NTA officials — did not cut ice with protesters. At the beginning of the weekonMonday,adayafteractivist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from Jantar Mantar and admitted to a hospital, the assessment within the government was that protests would eventually lose steam. NEET as well as other major entrance examinationswereafterallover,and the academic calendar was largely on track. While the government closely monitored the agitation, there was little indication E. »cOnTinUeD On PAGe 2 l sense of relief for cJP foUnder’s ParenTs At Dipke home, mother marks ‘victory’, father says he will never join politics Dipanita nath when he heard about Chief JusticeofindiaSuryaKant’sMay15 remark appearing to compare “GOiNG TO take a nap. See you unemployed youth to cockroaches. The CJP was born the all in a little while.” At 4:32 pm on Saturday, Ab- very next day when he asked on hijeet Dipke posted on X two X — “What if all cockroaches lines that would sound inane come together?” — and in less than a week, it had onanyotherday.But page 1 capturedtheimaginthis wasn’t any other ation of lakhs online, day — just two hours particularlyoninstaearlier, at 2:18 pm, Dharmendra Pradhan an- gram, where the Jantar Mantar nouncedhewasresigningfrom protests would eventually play his post as Union Education out in real time. “i had never imagined he Minister, capping a chapter that began with Dipke launch- wouldbecomesobig,”hisfather, ing the Cockroach Janta Party Bhagwan Shankar Dipke, told TheIndianExpressonSaturday. on May 16. ButDipkewasn’tcontentletDipke had just finished his studies at Boston University ting the CJP remain an online Pune, July 25 anchor abhijeet dipke’s parents, Bhagwan shankar and anita dipke, at their home in maharashtra’s chhatrapati sambhajinagar, saturday entity.OnJune6,hereturnedto india;ashewalkedoutofDelhi’s indiraGandhiinternationalAir- port,Dipke,whoisDalit,heldup a copy of the book Dr B R Ambedkar,MyAutobiography. Bythattime,theCJPalready hadover20millionfollowerson instagram. What would follow wastheprotestatJantarMantar which, amplified by activist Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite fast, quickly drew thousands fromacrossthecountryandbecameaheadacheforthecentral government. With the CJP calling for an end to the protest on Saturday, Bhagwan Shankar and his wife Anita feel a sense of relief. “For two-and-a-half months, the students have been fighting for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. This is victory,” said Anita, from their home in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad, now called Chhatrapati Sambhaji- nagar. “Abhijeet has fought patiently.Hewasslappedandvilified. He has achieved so much at such a young age.” in the morning, Bhagwan Shankar, who retired as a civil engineeratMaharashtraindustrialDevelopmentCorporation, went to a temple in the nearby Pandharpur village and prayed for the country. Anita said she last spoke to Dipke over a video call on Friday. He told her, “Mummy, thoda viral ho gaya.” She said that, initially, she “did not approve of what Abhijeet was doing”.“Then,isawthathewas fighting for students,” she said. His father chimed in, “Abhijeet will never go into politics.” He added that nobody in their family has been in politics: “Not even a sarpanch.” “My biggest dream for him was the civil services. i used to tell him that, if he cracked the UPSC exam, he would have a secure career,” he said. At the Dipke household, education has always been of paramount importance. Dipke, who has an elder sister, was expected to follow in his father's footstepsandbecomeanengineer.Hewasaquiet,studiousboy anddidnotgivehisparentsreasons to worry. His father mentioned Abhijeet’s passion for cricket:“ihadtostophiscricket. Withsomanycricketersaround »cOnTinUeD On PAGe 2 Lucknow