Chandigarh: The protest site at Sector 17 on Friday looked different from the image often associated with student movements. There were teenagers carrying placards, but there were also grandparents, parents and young children weaving through the crowd. Some had come because they had lived through examination controversies before. Others said they wanted the next generation to see that remaining silent was never the answer.For many families, the demonstration was not only about the alleged NEET paper leak. It was about preserving faith in a system that shapes the futures of millions of young people.Standing quietly among the protesters was 65-year-old Neeru, a retired health department employee. The slogans around her reminded her of an ordeal her own family had endured years ago.“My daughter’s examination was affected by a paper leak five or six years ago. She slipped into depression, locked herself in her room and stopped talking to us. It took us a long time to bring her back to normal,” she said.As she spoke, Neeru broke down. She said both her children had eventually settled abroad. “Sometimes I feel that if the system had been better, they might have stayed in India and we would not have been left alone. We are here so that no other child has to go through what my daughter did. Young people should have faith that if they work hard, they can build their future in this country,” she said.Not far away, another family had turned the protest into a lesson outside the classroom. A father had brought his daughters — Khushi, 21, a fine arts student, and Hasi, 16, a Class X student — not to witness a spectacle but to understand civic responsibility.“I brought my daughters here because I want them to understand that if something is wrong, people should raise their voice peacefully. I named them Khushi and Hasi because I always wanted their lives to be filled with happiness. I never want them to lose hope because of a system that fails them,” he said.He said education had become increasingly expensive, making fairness in examinations even more important for ordinary families. “We will do whatever it takes to educate our daughters. All we ask is that hard work should matter more than anything else,” he said, adding that he hoped they would grow up with the courage to question injustice, just as Bhagat Singh did.Sixty-year-old Rita Bhotra had come with her granddaughter, 15-year-old Jigisha, who studies in Class X and hopes to pursue the non-medical stream.“I did not like what happened to the students. They are our children. They should not have had to come out on the streets to be heard,” Rita said, looking at her granddaughter standing beside her.For Jigisha, it was her first protest. For her grandmother, it was a reminder that every generation eventually finds itself defending the opportunities of the next.By the time it turned dark and lights came alive at Sector 17, one thing was evident: Friday’s demonstration was no longer just a congregation of students. It had become a family affair, with parents and grandparents choosing to stand alongside young aspirants in the hope that the road to success would depend on merit alone, not uncertainty.
