On August 10, as 1000’s of Jharkhand college students marched within the capital, Ranchi, to gherao the State Meeting, Devendra Nath Mahto appeared amid the gang, held aloft by his supporters, with a framed {photograph} of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren in a single hand and the opposite raised in the direction of the protesters. Flower petals had been showered on him as cameras and cell phones adopted his actions.
For a person who has spent a decade organising pupil protests, the eye is new solely in scale. Mr. Mahto, 33, has emerged as essentially the most distinguished face of the agitation over alleged irregularities within the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Fee (JPSC) preliminary and Jharkhand Workers Choice Fee (JSSC) examinations. He has been on an indefinite starvation strike since August 2, and was hospitalised after the August 10 march, coming into the fifteenth day of his quick on Sunday (August 9, 2026).
The present agitation started days after the JPSC outcomes had been declared on July 2. A Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) chief, Mr. Mahto held a press convention on July 5, questioning the examination course of, and submitted a set of calls for to the Governor two days later. On July 8, protesters burnt an effigy of the JPSC chairman at Albert Ekka Chowk. After a gathering with Chief Minister Hemant Soren on July 20 yielded little, Mr. Mahto known as for an indefinite sit-in at Bapu Vatika in Morabadi on July 25, later transferring to Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.
The protest has since grown, with gheraos, marches and a continued starvation strike of no less than six different college students, even after three rounds of talks with the federal government that yielded in cancellation of JPSC prelims and backlog exams of 2023-25. Nonetheless, Mr. Mahto says the protest won’t be known as off till all exams performed by the TDPL (a personal examination conducting company) are cancelled, together with JSSC-CGL, and CBI investigation is really useful.
A stage of scholars
Owing to his political affiliations, a piece of scholars, days into the protest, arrange a distinct stage to maintain their distance from “politics” and insisting that the stage stay unbiased of political events. Mr. Mahto responded by refusing to take the stage once more when politics grew to become a degree of debate. His mattress was moved beneath the stage, as he affirmed, “That is the stage of scholars and their points, not of any political occasion.”
There was little in Mr. Mahto’s formative years to recommend a political profession. Son of Vishambar Mahto, a retired authorities instructor, he grew up in Rahe village in Ranchi district. His elder brother Dhaneshwar Mahto is a farmer. He was despatched to Bundu, about 10 km from the village, for his matriculation and intermediate training. He later moved to Ranchi. He accomplished his B.Ed in Hazaribagh and postgraduate research in Sanskrit and regional languages in Ranchi College until 2022.
“He needed to be a instructor,” his brother mentioned. “As any village youngster, he additionally needed a easy authorities job to steer his life. That’s the reason good training was prioritised.”
That modified in faculty. In 2016, Mr. Mahto started protesting over pupil scholarships. He subsequently grew to become concerned in demonstrations over recruitment guidelines, paper leaks and alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC exams. In response to pals, he has led round a dozen agitations since 2015.
“He by no means spoke of changing into a political chief,” his brother mentioned. “He spoke about elevating his voice towards injustice and for individuals’s rights. He says he doesn’t care if something occurs to him.”
Pals describe him as an ready orator, persistent and unusually tolerant. Chandan Kumar, a detailed pal and colleague from faculty since 2016, mentioned Mahto may carry college students collectively and lead their voices. Regardless that Chandan distances himself from politics, he helps Mr. Mahto for the coed’s trigger.
“He’s at all times fascinated about the welfare of Jharkhand’s college students,” Mr. Kumar mentioned. His political influences prolong past the Mahtos. Pals say he started studying B.R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. in faculty and later developed an curiosity in Jharkhand leaders akin to Nirmal Mahto and Vinod Bihari Mahto. He typically quotes Vinod Bihari Mahto’s slogan, “Padho aur lado” — research and combat.
The protests additionally got here at a private price. Throughout his first main agitation towards alleged irregularities within the sixth JPSC examination, his mom died of most cancers in 2019. Since then, his visits to his home have grow to be much less frequent.
“No matter work he picks he does it with utmost honesty and with dedication until he achieves the objective. His laborious work conjures up us so we assist him,” his brother mentioned, who had additionally appeared for aggressive exams.
Flip to politics
Mr. Mahto has himself appeared for no less than 4 JPSC preliminaries, JSSC-CGL and TGT examinations.
In 2022, he emerged alongside Jairam Mahto throughout protests over the inclusion of Bhojpuri, Magahi and Angika as regional languages in JSSC examinations. The next 12 months, he grew to become a distinguished face of the agitation towards the 60:40 employment coverage, popularising the slogan “60-40 nay chalto”.
After protesters gheraoed the JSSC workplace in January 2024 over the alleged leakage of the JSSC-CGL examination paper, the examination was cancelled. However Mr. Mahto and different protesters had been booked in a case that included costs associated to rioting, illegal meeting, try to homicide and assault, in keeping with Chandan.
“He reworked right into a distinguished chatra neta quickly main Jharkhand State College students’ Union, and after that it’s laborious to withstand the mainstream politics,” a detailed affiliate mentioned. “He desires to succeed in Parliament,” he mentioned.
The JLKM, based by activist-politician Jairam Mahto, grew to become a political car, with Devendra Nath Mahto more and more concerned in its actions. He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election independently from Ranchi and completed third, securing greater than 1.4 lakh votes after which the 2025 Vidhan Sabha election from his residence constituency Silli on the JLKM ticket. He was arrested in the course of the nomination interval in 2024 election and filed his nomination from jail. He says the transfer into politics was a pure extension of his activism.
“Since 2015, we’ve been agitating and always elevating our voice about JPSC, JSSC and different examination irregularities. Throughout this time, there have been BJP, JMM and Congress governments, however there was no answer to the scholars’ points,” he mentioned. “If the answer has to return from a political authorities, then why shouldn’t college students themselves be a part of that politics?”
The JLKM’s politics additionally contains the demand to increase Scheduled Tribe reservation to the Kudmi group, to which Mr. Mahto and Jairam Mahto belong. But, amid the present agitation, Mr. Mahto insists that his political identification should not eclipse the problem that introduced him there.
“This isn’t my voice. That is the voice of lakhs of aspirants who’ve been affected, and their moms who await a greater future,” he mentioned. “I knew this motion would develop larger as a result of this can be a pupil motion.” For now, he says, he’ll stay on starvation strike. “The federal government has given us nothing in writing. How can I finish my strike till the scholars are happy with the federal government’s response?” he requested.
Revealed – August 16, 2026 02:02 am IST
