'We Won't Leave Our Soil, We Won't Give Up The Fight': How Rain-Soaked Students Are Shaking Jharkhand
News india 'We Won't Leave Our Soil, We Won't Give Up The Fight': How Rain-Soaked Students Are Shaking Jharkhand 'We Won't Leave Our Soil, We
News india 'We Won't Leave Our Soil, We Won't Give Up The Fight': How Rain-Soaked Students Are Shaking Jharkhand 'We Won't Leave Our Soil, We Won't Give Up The Fight': How Rain-Soaked Students Are Shaking Jharkhand Written By, Last Updated: August 08, 2026, 17:37 IST Students across the country are on a high after Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, believing they have the power to make mighty governments listen and act Carved out of Bihar with promises of growth and opportunities, Jharkhand has seen its young aspirations repeatedly get sacrificed on the altar of corruption. (File image: ANI) “Gaon chhodat naahi…jungle chhodat nahi…humar maati chhodat nahi…ladai chhodat nahi." The song, set to tribal beats and drums, is sung multiple times a day as student protestors march from one end of the Jaipal Singh Munda stadium to the other. Often, the rain soaks their posters demanding a CBI probe, cancellation of JPSC exams, and justice. But their spirit is not drowned. The songs may not yet be trending all over India, like the memes from Jantar Mantar, but they capture the resilience of the youngsters in the tribal state. Carved out of Bihar with promises of growth and opportunities, Jharkhand has seen its young aspirations repeatedly get sacrificed on the altar of corruption. But the summer of 2026 has stirred something deep. The “mashal" was lit at Jantar Mantar…a small group took it to Bapu ki Kutiya in Ranchi, but soon, like an Olympic torch relay, it reached the Jaipal Singh Munda stadium. The choice of the protest ground holds its own symbolism: Jaipal Singh Munda, an Adivasi icon, an Olympian who captained India to its first hockey gold in 1928 and continued to inspire generations of Jharkhandis.
The first set of pictures that went viral from the protest site were of a motley group of students cowering under a statue of Jaipal Singh, holding a “tirpal" over their heads, as “sawan" (monsoon) lashed out with its full fury. It took 10 days for the Soren government to realise that the motley group was growing by the hour. The mobile torchlight march, the Shibu Soren Shraddhanjali march to the statue of another icon—Martyr Albert Ekka, the Tiranga Yatra—the crowd was growing, and even pouring rain was not holding back the protestors. The reason? These testimonies. “I scored 293.25 out of 300. Yet, I didn’t qualify. The cut-off was 294, and then someone called to say my marks can be increased if I paid 15 lakh. I would have dismissed it as a prank or cybercrime, but the caller had details of my 10th marksheet, my Aadhaar, my father’s name. Obviously an insider," Abhishek Kumar said. Sabita Kumari, who is on a hunger strike, couldn’t control her tears. “I fought with family and came to Ranchi in 2019. My age is increasing. There is pressure to get married. This year was my best chance to qualify, but they have taken money and sold our dream," she said, sobbing. “50% of the students who have qualified are from Haryana. They don’t know the difference between Latehar and Deoghar. Half of the question paper is supposed to be indigenous and specific to Jharkhand? How did outsiders qualify?" Abhinav Lakra questioned. All these students feel they have their backs to the wall.
The BriefWire