Physicswallah CEO Alakh Pandey Joins CJP Protest, Urges Govt To Listen

Alakh Pandey, co-founder and CEO of the educational technology company Physicswallah, has joined the ongoing student protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, expressing support for the demonstrators and urging the government to hold talks with them.

On Thursday morning, Pandey shared a video from the protest site on Physicswallah's Instagram handle, saying the movement was bigger than the NEET examination alone. In the video, he also criticised sections of the "national media" for what he called fake reporting on the students, including claims linking them to Pakistan, China, or terrorist groups.

"On July 20, the students of India held a historic protest. This was the anger of students against the entire education system. This isn't just about NEET, it is also about IIT, CBSE, SSC, admissions, recruitments," Pandey said in Hindi in the video.

"These children were beaten with sticks, they were given wounds. They were beaten by police, and by many goondas as well. Why doesn't the government talk to these children? These are the children of our country. Please talk to them once and listen to their problems. They have come onto the streets out of helplessness," he said.

The protests at Jantar Mantar, organised under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), have continued for several days. Protesters at the sit-in confirmed that Pandey had visited the site. The platform has been demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the leak of the May 3 NEET-UG question paper.

The protest intensified on July 20, when thousands of students gathered at Jantar Mantar, and police action followed. Since then, the demonstration has widened into a broader expression of anger against the central government and issues within India's education system.

"It is the compulsion of the youth that has forced them to take to the streets. So many children have died by suicide because of NEET. And the national media of the country is running fake news, that these children are supporters of Pakistan, that these children have been funded by China, that these children are terrorists, anti-nationals, all of this is so wrong," Pandey said.

Pandey Pledges Support For Affected Families

"All that I would say to the government is that these are our own children, the children of our country, please support them. From my side, I would like to say that I will support the families of all the children who have died by suicide, I will ensure that the other children of these families receive education, and I would like to appeal to the government to please listen to them," he said.

He reiterated the pledge in his Thursday video, saying, "I will fully support the families of all those students who committed suicide. I will provide complete education to all the children in their families."

Notably, Pandey's visit marks his first public participation in the ongoing protest. It comes after sections of the student community had called for greater support from prominent education leaders.

Pandey began teaching physics lessons on YouTube in 2016, aimed at students preparing for the engineering entrance exam JEE, the medical entrance exam NEET, and CBSE board exams. As his channel grew in popularity, he co-founded Physicswallah in 2020. The company became a unicorn two years later and went public last year.

After this year's NEET exam was cancelled and rescheduled following the paper leak, Pandey had posted a message of encouragement for aspirants on X. "Himmat mat harna bachon, Mehnat Kabhi bekaar nhi jaati (Do not lose heart, my children, hard work never goes in vain)," he wrote.

"We deserve a fair, transparent, and stress free examination process. I hope computer based test will ensure justice for every sincere aspirant who prepared day and night with honesty," he had added.