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Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Central Education Minister who resigned after student protests, was the fourth Education Minister during Narendra Modi’s 12-year tenure.
With his resignation on Saturday, Pradhan joined the list of ministers who were removed before completing their term.
Concerns about India’s education system sparked nationwide youth protests within a week, following initial demonstrations at Jantar-Mantar. The movement ended after the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) demands were addressed.
The recent protests have initiated fresh debates about India’s education system, examination process, and governmental priorities.
These questions extend beyond the current education minister, challenging the overall direction of the Modi administration’s education policies.
Since 2014, four persons have held the Education Ministry: Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, and Dharmendra Pradhan.
Under their leadership, the ministry went through phases of new education policies, institutional reforms, and ideological debates.
Critics argue that during this period, ideological changes were prioritized over genuine educational reforms.
Meanwhile, the government asserts it has undertaken long-needed structural reforms in education.
An Unstable Education Ministry
The recent controversy has sparked debate about the roles and legacies of the four education ministers during Modi’s prime ministership.
During Modi’s 12-year tenure, the Education Ministry has seen four different ministers at its helm.
In contrast, ministries like Home, External Affairs, Finance, Defense, and Health have enjoyed relative stability in leadership.
The previous three education ministers had all exited the cabinet within a few years of losing their ministry roles, for various reasons.
Senior journalist Vijay Trivedi, who has closely observed BJP and RSS politics, notes that over 12 years, there have been seven Information and Broadcasting ministers and five Culture ministers.
“Ministries like Education, Culture, and Information & Broadcasting are considered instruments of ’soft power’ and are crucial for promoting RSS ideology. Hence, they tend to experience greater controversy and instability,” Trivedi explains.
After the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, Dharmendra Pradhan became Education Minister. However, after Cockroach Janata Party supporters staged protests for a month at Jantar-Mantar, the government was pressured to remove him.
Earlier, the government had agreed to discuss the NEET medical entrance exam paper leak issue in Parliament but asked the opposition not to make the minister’s resignation a precondition for talks.
Trivedi says the government was initially reluctant to make Pradhan resign.
“Setting aside the NEET exam paper leak issue, Dharmendra Pradhan had successfully advanced many key organizational goals without controversy. They had faced backlash in earlier attempts,” he adds.
The Ministers’ Roles
Image source, Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Dharmendra Pradhan was India’s Petroleum Minister in 2014. He became Education Minister in Modi’s second and third terms.
During his tenure, the National Education Policy was prioritized, and promotion of mother tongue and multilingual education was encouraged.
However, Tamil Nadu strongly opposed the three-language policy.
Critics accused him of political interference and attempts to impose Hindi.
According to The Hindu’s Political Editor Nistula Hebbar, the BJP had few options but to accept the demand for Pradhan’s resignation.
The NEET exam paper leak directly impacted middle and lower-middle-class families.
Journalist Sharad Gupta argues that Modi’s education policy is mainly aimed at removing leftist influences.
“All four education ministers during Modi’s tenure should be judged by the same standards, as none had full autonomy. Policies were decided from the top, but implementation styles varied,” he says.
Vijay Trivedi views the ministerial selections in this context. Except for Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, and Dharmendra Pradhan all have RSS backgrounds.
In 2014, Smriti Irani was appointed Minister of Human Resource Development despite losing the election to Rahul Gandhi.
During Modi’s first term, the ministry’s name was changed from Human Resource Development to Education Ministry.
The government promoted this shift as a central recommendation of the National Education Policy to focus on education.
Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar held the ministry in the first term, and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in the second term.
Controversies Surrounding Education Ministers
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Before 1985, this ministry was called Education Ministry; it received the name Human Resource Development Ministry under Rajiv Gandhi’s government.
In 2014, Congress raised issues about Smriti Irani’s handling of education up to class 12. The BJP defended her.
Yet she never completed a full term leading the ministry. Later, Modi shifted her to the Textiles Ministry amid controversies over her academic qualifications and the Rohith Vemula suicide case.
Trivedi states, “It cannot be said definitively that Smriti Irani was directly from the RSS, since RSS messages are not easy to interpret. That’s why the more calm Prakash Javadekar was appointed.”
The new education policy work only began after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.
Preparation for the policy began during Smriti Irani’s term and culminated in its implementation under Ramesh Pokhriyal in 2020.
A 2016 report revealed RSS dissatisfaction with delays in formulating and implementing the new policy.
The new education policy, introduced after 34 years, is considered a key achievement of the Modi government. It set a target to spend 6% of GDP on education.
However, recent reports indicate the education ministry’s share in the central budget has declined.
The budget allocation was 4.6% under the UPA government in 2013-14 but allegedly dropped to 2.5% in 2025-26.
A Strategic Ministry
According to Sharad Gupta, the falling education budget signals the government’s lack of seriousness toward educational reforms.
He alleges ideological prioritization in university faculty and administrative appointments.
In 2022, Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit was appointed the first woman Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, publicly known for her ties to RSS.
During Prakash Javadekar’s term, violence against Kashmiri students post-Pulwama attack and protests against leaked class 10 and 12 exam papers at Jantar-Mantar were prominent.
However, he established the Institute of Eminence and the National Testing Agency (NTA) during his tenure.
The NTA conducted the NEET exam amid allegations of question paper leaks, sparking the Cockroach Janata Party protests.
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ was also controversial for claims lacking scientific basis, such as stating ‘Charaka Rishi discovered atoms and molecules.’
There were widespread campaigns opposing NEET exams during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to court cases.
He eventually resigned citing health reasons and exited the cabinet entirely.
Dharmendra Pradhan, who took office in 2021, could not complete his full term due to recent protests.
