New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor has written a heartfelt open letter to the young protesters at Jantar Mantar and across India, expressing solidarity with their anguish over repeated paper leaks, cancelled examinations, and the erosion of trust in the education system. The letter comes amid ongoing protests led by groups like the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding accountability and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In the letter, Tharoor addresses the youth not as a politician but as someone who understands their struggles from personal experience. He recounts his own middle-class upbringing, where his father was a salaried newspaper employee and his mother a homemaker raising three children on a single income.

He highlighted his academic journey, schooling in Mumbai and Kolkata, topping Delhi University, gaining admission to IIM, and pursuing international affairs in America on a scholarship---emphasizing that nothing was inherited and everything was earned through hard work and fair exams.

Tharoor warned that when the “ladder” of merit is broken by paper leaks and destroyed trust, it is the children of lower and middle-income families who suffer the most. The rich and powerful, he noted, have alternative paths.

“It is your dreams, and your families' sacrifices (and tragically, in some homes, young lives themselves) that are betrayed,” the letter states.

Praising the peaceful protests, Tharoor said: “To the young people gathered at Jantar Mantar, and those raising your voices peacefully across India: this country hears you. Your anger is not indiscipline- it is the anguish of a generation that did everything right and was still betrayed. You are not alone.”

He urged millions of young Indians watching quietly not to lose hope, declaring that their generation is “the answer to India's future” and that the ladder “will be rebuilt by you, and by every Indian who stands with you.

Tharoor made a direct appeal to climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike as part of the protests:

He noted that Parliament is set to resume session from Monday, providing an opportunity to raise students’ issues in the highest democratic forum. “That’s where the problem should be addressed, not by fasting unto death. Please heed my plea,” Tharoor added.

Concluding with a message to the government, Tharoor urged dialogue: “I respectfully urge you to reach out and engage in the dialogue our democracy owes its young citizens. That is not weakness; that is statesmanship.”

The open letter has resonated widely among protesting students and youth activists at Jantar Mantar, where demands for systemic reforms in competitive exams like NEET, accountability for leaks, and justice for affected students continue. Protests have drawn attention to issues including student suicides, grace marks controversies, and the long-term impact on marginalized and middle-class aspirants.