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.