'Tantamount to suicide'; Know who Devendra Nath Mahto is and why he is protesting in Jharkhand

"Please take some water; this is tantamount to suicide... You need some time, but it could be 2-3 weeks as well, and I hope that the government will understand and make the right decision," Wangchuk said

NewsBharati    05-Aug-2026 13:26:17 PM   
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As student protests in Jharkhand gain momentum, student leader Devendra Nath Mahto has become the movement's central figure, drawing comparisons to Sonam Wangchuk. On Wednesday, August 5, activist Sonam Wangchuk backed Mahto and stated that what the latter was doing was tantamount to suicide.

"Please take some water; this is tantamount to suicide... You need some time, but it could be 2-3 weeks as well, and I hope that the government will understand and make the right decision," Wangchuk said to Mahto on video call.
 
Mahto Jharkhand  

Mahto began an indefinite hunger strike at Ranchi's Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in solidarity with the protesting students, stating that fasting was his final option after other forms of protest failed to prompt the Jharkhand government's response. Mahto and fellow students are demonstrating against widespread irregularities in Jharkhand's recruitment examinations, calling for investigations by the CBI and ED. He has also demanded that the 14th JPSC preliminary examination be scrapped until transparency and fairness can be guaranteed.
 
 
 

Mahto, meanwhile, talking about the protest, said that he was extremely exhausted since he had been protesting since July 25th. "... We have been on Satyagraha since July 25th; I sat on the indefinite hunger strike on August 2nd. I was extremely exhausted—it was a critical time... Papers have been leaking here for 26 years... Yesterday, the doctor warned that if I didn't take water, I would have to be admitted to the hospital," he said.

Who is Devendra Nath Mahto? Why is he protesting?

Devendra Nath Mahto is a student leader from a small village in Ranchi. He completed his schooling in Bundu before pursuing higher education at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University in Ranchi. A postgraduate in Sanskrit as well as Kurmali, Tribal and Regional Languages, Mahto also has a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree from Hazaribagh. He also contested the 2024 Jharkhand Assembly elections from the Tamar constituency as an Independent candidate. He has been involved in student activism since 2015, and has raised issues related to scholarships, paper leaks, recruitment rules, and reservation policies throughout.
 
 

"This struggle, which began on July 5 and the ongoing day-and-night satyagraha since July 25, has now reached a difficult stage. There is weakness in the body, but the resolve to deliver justice to students is stronger than ever," he wrote in his latest X post. He appealed to supporters to keep the agitation peaceful and constitutional, saying the fight was not for an individual but for the future of lakhs of young aspirants in Jharkhand.
 

Since July 25, thousands of students have been protesting across Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in various government examinations, particularly those conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). What began as a localized protest has grown into a statewide movement, centered in Ranchi, demanding accountability, transparent recruitment processes, and broader education reforms.

The unrest was sparked by reports of OMR sheet tampering and paper leaks in the JPSC civil services examination. Students allege that the agency hired to conduct the exam, TDPL, had previously been blacklisted by other government bodies, including the SSC.
 

Anger among students extends to several other examination-related controversies in the state. They are seeking answers over the 2024 JSSC CGL exam paper leak, which led to the exam being rescheduled following High Court intervention, and have rejected the state's CID probe into the matter. Earlier this year, 159 candidates and five racket leaders were arrested for allegedly paying up to Rs 15 lakh each to memorize leaked question papers for the Jharkhand Excise Constable Competitive Examination (JECCE). Additionally, the Science and Hindi question papers for the 2025 JAC Class 10 board exams were leaked on social media before or during the exams in districts such as Koderma and Giridih, forcing authorities to cancel and re-conduct them.
Jharkhand Sonam Wangchuk Devendra Nath Mahto Jharkhand protest
Siddhi Somani

Siddhi Somani

Siddhi Somani is known for her satirical and factual hand in Economic, Social and Political writing. Having completed her post graduation in Journalism, she is currently engaged in completing her Masters in Politics. The author meanwhile is also exploring her hand in analytics and statistics.