NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
New York, NY, July 23, 2026: Protesters gathered at Union Square in New York City on July 20 in a show of solidarity with students in India protesting the leaked NEET examination papers and demanding greater accountability and reforms.
The first rally was held on July 20 at Union Square, near the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The U.S.-based advocacy organization Hindus for Human Rights promoted the New York demonstration, calling on supporters to gather “to stand with India’s students.”
Writer and activist Yashica Dutt, who attended the rally, later announced that a second demonstration would be held at the same location on Friday, July 24, citing what she described as the “tremendous response” to the July 20 gathering. She invited participants to join a “peaceful solidarity protest” and encouraged them to bring handmade signs and water.
In a separate post following the July 20 event, Dutt said the gathering aimed to show that the voices of student protesters in India “are being heard around the world” and invoked Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s call to “Educate, Agitate, Organize.”
Similar solidarity demonstrations are also being organized in other US cities, including Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago on June 24 and 25.
The demonstrations in the United States come as protests continue across India following the cancellation of the NEET examination. What began as anger over the leaked medical entrance exam has broadened into a larger youth-led movement demanding greater transparency, accountability, and reforms to India’s examination system.
Cover photo credit: Yashica Dutt/Instagram.
