When the paper leak stir broke out across the country, Ravi (name changed to protect identity) was in two minds about joining the other Gen Z protestors on the ground in Mumbai. While the 19-year-old political science student found the issue compelling, his hesitation stemmed from a deep distrust of the movement and its leaders’ hesitation to speak about historical injustices against Dalits in the education system.

“I thought it odd, considering [CJP founder] Abhijeet Dipke had declared he was Dalit. But I kept faith and went for a protest at Shivaji Park. There were sporadic chants of ‘Jai Bhim’ but, again, there was no mention of Anitha [Dalit student who challenged the introduction of NEET in the Supreme Court in 2017, before succumbing in the first student suicide over the entrance exam] or Rohith [Vemula, PhD scholar who died by suicide over caste-based hostilities on campus],” he recalls.