The reports of widespread rigging and corruption in the Integrated Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) examination of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) have generated huge anger across the state. Following the examination held on 13 December 2024, the fairness of the examination was questioned due to paper leak, late receipt of question papers, and technical problems at many examination centres. BPSC candidates started a movement against this, which threw a challenge to the politics and administration of Bihar.
The movement demands that the entire BPSC examination be cancelled and the examination be conducted again, because only the examination of Patna centre was cancelled, while complaints of irregularities were received at other centres as well. The agitators said that these irregularities and allegations of paper leak raised serious questions on the fairness of the examination and if the government did not take concrete steps on this, then it will not only be an injustice but will also be a disaster for the future of the youth of Bihar.
Growing Public Support
The BPSC candidates raised their voice by sitting at the Dharna Sthal in Gardanibagh, Patna. This movement was supported by AISA (All India Students Association) and RYA (Revolutionary Youth Association). The agitators said that they will continue the struggle until the entire examination is cancelled and the examination is conducted again. A statewide protest movement was announced under the leadership of AISA-RYA on 27-28 December 2024. During this, a delegation of Paliganj MLA Sandeep Saurabh, AISA State Secretary Sabir Kumar and State President Preeti Kumari visited the village of Paliganj student Sonu Kumar, who had committed suicide due to the arbitrariness of BPSC. Saluting the martyrdom of Sonu Kumar, a demand was made to give compensation to the family.
On 29 December, a tribute meeting was organized in his memory across the state. The movement gained more intensity when on 29 December, despite the bitter cold, the protesters in Patna were once again brutally lathi-charged, water cannons used and many students arrested and sent to jail. On getting information about the incident, MLA Gopal Ravidas went to PMCH and met the injured students. He also met the arrested students and expressed his support.
Road Blockade in Protest
AISA-RYA called for a statewide road blockade after 29 December. This movement then spread to various parts of Bihar. Students and youth blocked major crossings, railway lines and roads in Patna, Darbhanga, Ara, Samastipur, Siwan, Muzaffarpur and other districts. In Patna, a students’ march started from GPO Golambar, which reached Dak Bungalow Square and the square was blocked for two hours. Chakka jam and road demonstrations were also held in Siwan and Samastipur. In Darbhanga, the protesters blocked the railway lines and protested and raised anti-government slogans.
The protesters throughout the state showed mutual solidarity and demanded a fair investigation of the BPSC paper leak case, action against the guilty officials and re-examination. The effect of the state-wide Chakka Jam was seen in Ara, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Siwan, Muzaffarpur. In Patna, AISA state secretary Sabir Kumar, President Preeti Kumari, RYA’s Vinay Kumar, Janvi Rai, Jyoti Kumari, Karim, Hussain, Puneet Pathak, Aryan Kumar, Sanu, Amarjeet and others led the protest. In Patna University campus, AISA leaders Neeraj Yadav, Animesh Chandan, Kumar Divyam and other students’ union activists blocked the Ashoka Rajpath for hours and raised slogans against the atrocities of the Nitish government.
The Sampark Kranti Express was stopped in Darbhanga. The traffic was blocked. The protesters came down on the railway track and raised anti-government slogans and demanded that the exam be held again. In Ara, hundreds of youths under the leadership of Agiaon MLA Shivprakash Ranjan stopped the Patna-Buxar passenger train, due to which train operations on the Patna-Ara rail section were blocked for some time. Later, while marching through the city, the private bus stand was also blocked.
In Arwal, the protesters blocked the Patna-Aurangabad road near Bhagat Singh Chowk, due to which the movement of big vehicles stopped. In Samastipur, students and youth associated with AISA-RYA and other organizations blocked the Samastipur Overbridge intersection. There was a jam at many places in Siwan city since morning. The Laheriyasarai to Baheri state highway was blocked at Mirzapur Koyahi Chowk. In Muzaffarpur, a march was taken out in the city under the leadership of RYA national President Aftab Alam. The effect of the Chakka Jam was also seen in districts like Chapra, Supaul, Begusarai, Buxar, Madhepura, Gopalganj etc.
Raj Bhavan March of MLAs and Repression by Administration
The movement soon turned out to be a massive mass movement. On 31 December 2024, MLAs of CPI-ML, CPI, CPM and Congress unitedly marched to the Raj Bhavan. CPI-ML MLA party leader Mehboob Alam, Paliganj MLA Sandeep Saurabh, RYA state Secretary Shivprakash Ranjan and MLAs from other opposition parties participated in the march. These MLAs demanded cancellation of the result of the exam, impartial investigation of the paper leak and proper compensation to the family of deceased student Sonu Kumar.
The administration put up barricades several times to stop this march, but the protesters crossed broke through the barricades. However, the administration tried to stop them before they reached the Raj Bhavan. After the hard work and struggle of the protestors, the Governor's office was forced to respond. A proposal for talks came from the Governor and a delegation of MLAs met the Governor. They submitted a memorandum of their four-point demands:
The BPSC exam should be cancelled and the exam should be held again in the entire state.
Action should be taken against the officers who brutally suppressed the agitating candidates and the cases registered against the protesting candidates should be withdrawn.
The family of the deceased candidate Sonu Kumar should be given proper compensation.
The paper leak case should be investigated impartially and a strict law should be made to punish the exam mafia.
The MLAs said that conducting a re-examination for only 12,000 candidates of Bapu Sabhagar examination centre will create inequality vis-a-vis other candidates and hence re-examination should be conducted for all candidates. Deciding the result of an exam on the basis of – for all practical purposes – two different question papers is clearly inconsistent and unjust. What steps will the government take to ensure equal treatment to all students? Is the government going to adopt the controversial “normalization” process for this, which will spell the death knell for transparency and fairness of the examination? The MLAs posed these questions during the meeting with the Governor.
According to the “normalization” rules, when the average marks of the candidates in one shift are low and the number of attempts is also low, then that shift will be considered difficult by the commission. On the other hand, if more marks are obtained in the second shift and there are more attempts, then this shift will be considered easy. Now after normalization, the marks of difficult shifts are increased according to the marks of easy shifts.
The Agitation Continues in the New Year
The agitators decided to continue the agitation in the new year. AISA-RYA called a meeting of other student-youth organizations and jointly took out torch processions in all the districts on January 1, 2025. On January 2, a civil society protest was held in Patna under the banner of AIPF. On January 3, a siege of the Chief Minister was announced in Patna, in which thousands of student-youths participated. The protesters took out a march from Kargil Chowk to Ramgulam Chowk, and the administration put up barricades several times to stop it. However, the students succeeded in breaking these barricades and reached Dak Bungalow Square, where they completely blocked the square. RYA national President Aftab Alam and AISA leaders declared to continue the agitation.
The protesters have announced a protest day on 25 January. CPI-ML leader Mehboob Alam said that this struggle is not only against the BPSC paper leak, but for the restoration of justice and democracy in the whole of Bihar. He said, “This government is trying to cover up cases like corruption and paper leak.” He also said that the students and youth of Bihar would not tolerate this dictatorial rule and the time had come to change it.
The protesters criticized Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his administration for suppressing the voice of the students and deprived them of justice. Many MLAs of CPI-ML, CPI, CPM and Congress were consistently there in support of the protesters. CPI-ML MLA party leader Mehboob Alam, Paliganj MLA Sandeep Saurabh, Agiaon MLA and RYA state secretary Shivprakash Ranjan and Dumraon MLA Ajit Kushwaha along with Satyadev Ram, Gopal Ravidas, CPI’s Suryakant Paswan, Congress MLA Shakeel Ahmed and CPM MLA Satyendra Yadav came in support of the movement. The marches were led by MLA Shivprakash Ranjan, RYA national President Aftab Alam, AISA state President Preeti Kumari, Secretary Sabir Kumar, state Joint Secretary Kumar Divyam, Neeraj Yadav, RYA state Joint Secretary Vinay Kumar and other leaders.
Despite these protests, the Bihar government and BPSC showed complete insensitivity and on 4 January conducted a re-examination only at the Bapu Sabhagar centre. None of the demands of the protesting candidates were heard. Despite this, the MLAs of the Mahagathbandhan submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Bihar demanding a high-level inquiry into the irregularities in the BPSC exam.
The Larger Significance of the Movement
The agitation of the BPSC candidates has emerged as a crucial event at a crucial moment in Bihar. Despite the repression and insensitivity from the government, the struggle of the agitators continues and this is turning into a big movement. Wherever Nitish Kumar is going during his Pragati Yatra, he is having to face opposition from the candidates and students and youths in solidarity with them. AISA leaders are being put under house arrest even before the arrival of the Chief Minister. In Samastipur, the students and youth were kept in the police station for several hours.
The entire incident of BPSC exam is not just about the paper leak, rather it is exposing the organised and institutionalized corruption in the education and examination system of Bihar. Such malpractices are continuing with the connivance of the state government and administration.
Similar irregularities and allegations of corruption have been coming to the fore in every examination in the state for the last few years. This indicates that there are serious irregularities in the examination and recruitment process, which is a joke on the future of the students and youth of the state. In the last 20 years of BJP-JDU alliance rule, a mafia has flourished in the field of education and employment under the protection of the government. The aim of this mafia is to bend the selection process according to its wishes and for the benefits of a few people. If no concrete action is taken on the above issues, then AISA and RYA will organize marches across the state.
During the assembly session in the month of March, AISA and RYA will organize a grand gathering of students and youth from all over the state. If the government does not do justice to the students and youth, then it has no right to remain in power. This movement has made it clear that the students and youth of Bihar will not back down at any cost in their fight for justice and this struggle will continue until they get complete justice.
Poem
Bells Rang Out the JP Circle
They rang out their tomorrows
With the sirens of an ambulance
With the bells lurching afore
From an anti-riot vehicle
With water-canons fixed to it. . .
It was midnight
And, I was crossing
The JP Circle at the Gandhi Maidan
As the Church bells nearby
Were ringing out the old year
The farewell. . .
The Maurya Hotel adorned herself
With sparkling tiny bulbs
Like some Kiara Advani sporting
Golden jewellery
Sold herself on a giant city hoarding
While the city crowds
Gleefully sold their spines
Wearing the lately misused
Christmas caps
On Patna streets. . .
It was midnight
And, I was wandering
Around the JP Circle
Where the other day
They sat in along the same streets
With hopes for justice. . .
And, the fulfillment came
As sticks bruised their skins
Blood woozed out of their
Gaping skulls
Shrieked for help. . .
While they kept ringing out their tomorrows
With the sirens of an ambulance. . .
Water: Water washed out
Their future
The buoyant force from the canons
Washed their placards, their slogans,
Their voices, their demands. . .
Then came the municipal civilities
With their magic cleaning services. . .
It was water again
That washed away their torn clothes,
Sleepers that they failed to keep
At the hour of hullabaloos,
Broken spectacles,
As they cleaned the JP Circle. .
The JP Circle was cleaned.
They cleaned their merits along,
Their dreams, their rights -
In a nutshell:
Justice was cleaned. . .
Now, as I looked at it
The JP Circle looked resplendently cleansed
Of everything that had ever
Stained it with dirts. . .
Like unuttered words
Like unexpected goodbyes
Like unrealised loves
Like insurmountable memories
Like half-lost visions
Like lives ended suddenly
Without alarms
Like 'Allah' and 'SitaRam'
Forced to be forsaken
From a Bhajan
Liked by the Father of the Nation. . .
Like particles of dust
Blown in the mid-air
With the wintry winds. . .
I followed them upward
And, saw the Biscomaun Tower
Turning into a glowing
Lighthouse
The sparkling beams
Radiated the night sky
As everything that was discarded
And rejected and dismissed
And as all those sailors lost
Their directions permanently
Were finally settling
Along the darkness
In and around the JP Statue.
- Ojachito, Patna
31.12.2024
