3 student leaders end hunger strike at Jantar Mantar; opposition leaders assure them to raise demands in Parliament

On the 23rd day of the indefinite hunger strike demanding accountability in the education system, AISA student leaders Neha, Manish and Aameen ended their fast at Jantar Mantar on Monday following an appeal by a delegation of Opposition MPs, activists and public figures.

The student organisation announced that while the hunger strike has concluded, the movement will continue through a month-long campaign against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.

The hunger strike came to an end amid rain at Jantar Mantar, where the three students had been protesting for over three weeks.

According to AISA, the decision was taken after an appeal by a delegation comprising Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, MPs Rajaram Singh and Amra Ram, activist Yogendra Yadav, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, Professor Atul Sood, and actors Prakash Raj and Shabana Azmi.

Appealing to the students to end their fast, Yogendra Yadav said, "This is not the breaking of the hunger strike, but a conclusion of this form of struggle."

Manoj Jha praised the protesters, saying, "What you have achieved is massive, as this government stands exposed on all fronts.”

Shabana Azmi also addressed the gathering, saying, "We have failed as a generation to do good to our GenZ, but you people have shown us the way forward."

Rajaram Singh expressed support for carrying the movement into Parliament, saying, "Your struggle will also roar in the house of democracy from today onwards. You have shown all of opposition the way to fight."

AISA claimed the three students lost more than 12% of their body weight during the fast and endured dangerously low blood sugar levels along with severe impacts on their organs.