In 1997, Dharmendra Pradhan protested against paper leak outside Odisha Secretariat as a student leader and was beaten

In 1997, Dharmendra Pradhan stood outside the Odisha government secretariat with roughly 1,500 students, protesting a paper leak. Police charged at the crowd. Pradhan was beaten and sustained fractures.

He is now India's Union Education Minister. Students have gathered at Delhi's Jantar Mantar demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.

The two events are separated by nearly three decades, involve different states, different circumstances, and different sides of the same issue. The parallel has drawn renewed attention to how Pradhan arrived at the position he now holds.

Dharmendra Pradhan 1997 paper leak protest

Dharmendra Pradhan was a student activist with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) years before he became India's Union Education Minister. During his time in student politics, Pradhan organised protests, participated in rallies and served as the ABVP's National Secretary for two terms between 1994 and 1997, according to a profile published by The New Indian Express. ET has not independently verfied the incident with records.

One incident recalled by his former associates was a 1997 protest against a paper leak issue in Odisha, when Pradhan was associated with ABVP. Nearly three decades later, Pradhan, as Education Minister, has been at the centre of protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, with students and opposition leaders demanding accountability.

The details of Pradhan's student politics years were shared by his former associates while speaking to The New Indian Express.

The family he came from

Pradhan was born in 1969 in Talcher, in Odisha's Angul district. His father, Debendra Pradhan, was among the prominent BJP leaders from Odisha during a period when the party was still expanding its organisational base across the country. Debendra Pradhan served as Union Minister of State for Surface Transport and later for Agriculture under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and held a Lok Sabha seat from Deogarh, Odisha.

When Debendra Pradhan retired from that seat in 2004, Dharmendra succeeded him as the constituency's MP.

The 1997 protest over a paper leak in Odisha

Prashant Rout, who was Pradhan's junior at Utkal University, told The New Indian Express about a protest organised in 1997 over a paper leak issue in Odisha.

"We staged a protest against the Odisha government, in front of the secretariat. Around 1,500 students joined us there," Rout said.

According to Rout, the protest was peaceful initially, but police action followed.

"We were quite scared. Pradhan was badly beaten up that time. He had a few fractures too," he said.

Rout also shared a photograph of an injured Pradhan with the publication and recalled another incident related to university elections.

"Elections in universities often got violent, owing to the ruling party's involvement. During one such incident, knowing that Pradhan was set to win the university elections, the Janata Dal goons had beaten him up, brutally," Rout told The New Indian Express.

These accounts were provided by Pradhan's former associates while speaking to the publication.

Pradhan's three-pen habit from his ABVP days

Sudipta Kumar Ray, an Odisha BJP spokesperson who knew Pradhan during his ABVP days, recalled another detail about his working style.

"I first met him in 1985 during an ABVP training camp. He joined the organisation in 1983," Ray told The New Indian Express.

Ray said Pradhan spent significant time preparing before meetings and carried three pens with him.

"He always carried a red pen, a blue pen and a black one with him. He would use them to mark specific parts of documents and analyse them," Ray said.

According to Ray, Pradhan started participating in activism during his first year of college.

"While most people cast their votes for the first time at 18, he started fighting polls by then," Ray said.

Why Pradhan is called Muku Bhai

Pradhan's old associates from Odisha also referred to him by his nickname, Muku.

Ray told The New Indian Express that the nickname was common among his friends.

"It is an Odia thing. Almost everyone has a nickname. There is no reason behind it," Ray said.

He added that people in Odisha often use "Bhai" while addressing others as a sign of respect.

"Pradhan followed suit. He never failed to address me or others as Bhai," Ray said.

The NEET protests and Pradhan's current role as education minister

In 2026, protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination brought the Education Ministry under scrutiny.

Students and protesters gathered at Delhi's Jantar Mantar demanding action, with some seeking Pradhan's resignation as Education Minister.

The protests came years after Pradhan's student politics period, when his former associates recalled his participation in demonstrations, including the 1997 Odisha paper leak protest.

From ABVP to the Union Cabinet

After his years in ABVP, Pradhan joined mainstream politics and became a BJP leader.

Before becoming Education Minister, he served as the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

He was appointed Education Minister in 2021.