Rahul Gandhi supports Maharashtra student protests amid exam irregularities

India's main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has voiced support for students protesting in Maharashtra against alleged irregularities in a state-level recruitment examination.

"Thousands of students are on the streets, protesting peacefully — the reason isn't just one exam or recruitment, but a trust that's been shattered by the entire system," Gandhi said in a statement on X as he called on the government to listen to the protesters' demands and act.

"Otherwise, this echo of the students will only grow louder until justice is served," the senior Congress party leader said.

Why are the Maharashtra student demonstrations about?

Gandhi's remarks come as the Maharashtra government initiated a probe into an alleged paper leak of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's (MPSC) Food and Drug Administration examination for Drug Inspector posts.

The offline exam was held on March 22, following which there were complaints that some candidates had allegedly received the question paper or questions beforehand.

Aspirants said that their complaints were not looked into. The recruitment process was completed and the MPSC published a merit list of 488 candidates.

However, the commission later canceled the recruitment process and in a statement cited a police inquiry which prima facie indicated that a candidate had got hold of the question paper before the exam and benefited from it.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra government also constituted a high-level committee to take full stock of the existing recruitment exam system in the country's second-most populous state.

The committee is tasked with suggesting measures to make the screening process more transparent, secure, reliable and candidate-friendly.

Tribal students' protest

In recent days, several parts of Maharashtra also witnessed a protest by tribal students — including a hunger strike — over poor conditions in student hostels, student safety and recruitment to some 12,500 vacant posts reserved for tribal communities.

The protesters' demands were accepted by the Maharashtra government, leading to the hunger strike being withdrawn.

On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi railed against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the government in Maharashtra.

"Whether it's the central or state government, every student is tormented by the BJP regime," he alleged.

"Paper leaks, stalled recruitments, the unbearable cost of education, inhumane conditions in hostels, food like poison ...and now, they've seized control of a constitutional body like MPSC and destroyed its credibility," Gandhi, who is the leader of opposition in the lower house of the Indian parliament, said.

The protests in Maharashtra come after a massive Gen Z-led protest demanding an overhaul of India's examination system, rocked the country in July. The demonstrations marked one of the biggest public challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-term rule and culminated with the resignation of the then education minister.

In a week from now, leaders and representatives of BRICS nations will descend upon New Delhi to attend the 18th summit of the international group which India is hosting as part of its 2026 presidency.

The summit will be held from September 12 to 13 at the Bharat Mandapam convention center in the Indian capital.

Preparations are entering their final stage ahead of the meet and Delhi is set to be a fortress with a heavy security blanket.

On Saturday, a motorcade rehearsal had been scheduled with the traffic authorities in Delhi issuing an advisory for diversions and regulated movement on key routes.

The Indian Express has reported that drones would be deployed to track the movement of traffic and spot chokepoints during the summit.

Meanwhile, media reports earlier this week said that hotel prices in the capital were soaring around the dates of the summit.

Indian news outlets said that luxury hotels in the city were either fully sold out or were giving rooms at a significantly higher tariff.

For one luxury hotel in central Delhi, a room that costs 23,000 Indian Rupees (€210, $243 approx) a night this weekend was listed at 280,000 Indian Rupees (€2,550, $2,963 approx) per night from September 10 to 13, with the rates going back to normal from September 14th, a search on a travel app showed.

India's fourth round of BRICS chairship

BRICS is an 11-member bloc which brings together major emerging markets and developing countries of the world.

India said the upcoming meet will also be joined by partner countries and outreach invitees.

The group's presidency rotates annually among the member states.

India, which is also a founding member of BRICS, has previously held the presidency thrice — in 2012, 2016 and 2021.

India's BRICS chairship is guided by the theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," according to a statement by the foreign ministry in New Delhi.

India's athletes are gearing up for this month's Asian Games being hosted by Japan and their preparations involve living temporarily in shipping container-style units to acclimate to their official lodgings during the continental sporting event.

The Japanese prefecture of Aichi will stage the Games from September 19 to October 4, with over 17,000 athletes and officials in attendance.

The number of participants is higher than the Olympics and in a cost-cutting move, they will not stay in a traditional athletes' village but in hotels, a cruise ship and temporary units mostly made of wood.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has constructed similar wooden container-style accommodations at its athlete headquarters in Patiala and Bengaluru to replicate the arrangement in Japan.

In the SAI's southern Indian campus in Bengaluru, two fully air-conditioned container-style units have been built, measuring 40-foot-long (12 meters) and 10-foot-wide.

Each unit two small twin bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living area with a TV and music system.

Up north in Punjab's Patiala, SAI gave journalists a tour of the two cabins built there.

"These containers are like a simulator," Vineet Kumar, deputy director general of the SAI, told news agency AFP in Patiala.

"It is a unique concept as never in an Asian Games or Olympics this kind of accommodation was used," he said.

Kumar told AFP that the replicas were made to ensure that Indian athletes "don't feel the shock and get claustrophobic when they are given such accommodation in Japan."

The SAI told the media that a roster has been made for the athletes to stay for a night, turn-by-turn, before they fly out for Japan.

India is celebrating its national Teachers' Day on Saturday.

Every year on September 5, educational institutions across the country hold cultural events and programs honoring teachers for their contributions to the society.

Teachers' Day in India is celebrated on the birth anniversary of renowned scholar and philosopher Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was born on September 5, 1888 and served as the second president of the nation.

The commemoration dates back to 1962, a few months after he became president.

According to a popular anecdote, some of Radhakrishnan's students wanted to celebrate his birthday but the academic-turned-statesman is believed to have told them that it would be his "proud privilege" if the day was observed as Teachers' Day instead.

On Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended Teachers’ Day greetings.

"#TeachersDay is about appreciating the strong contribution of teachers to our society. It is also a day to pay homage to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan," he wrote on X as he shared visuals of his meeting with the recipients of the annual National Teachers' Awards that were presented on Friday.

This is Dharvi from DW's studio in Delhi, bringing you the weekend edition of our India blog where we break down all the biggest headlines that are making a splash in the world's most populous nation.

A total of 275 Indians are still missing in the devastating Nepal-Tibet floods as deaths in the disaster cross the 1,200 mark.

In diplomatic news, a countdown has begun in New Delhi for next week's BRICS summit. India is set to host leaders of member nations as the economic bloc's chair.

Meanwhile in the world of sports, Indian athletes are prepping for the Asian Games in a rather unconventional manner — by sleeping in shipping container-style units.

Stay tuned for all this and more.