Bollywood megastar Salman Khan has officially thrown his weight behind the students protesting the NEET-UG examination paper leaks. In a direct public statement, Khan called the systemic examination failure a “very serious” issue but expressed deep sadness over the violent turn the nationwide demonstrations have taken.
The actor praised the students for their courage in demanding a better educational framework. He warned that the movement must remain strictly focused on academic reforms rather than partisan point-scoring.
“This issue is between the students and the educational system,” Khan wrote in his public address. “It should not be hijacked politically, the credit should only go to the students of our country.” He pleaded that the movement stay above politics, while also sharing a broader vision for India to become a global educational hub. He suggested that making education “trendier and more fashionable” would attract international students to the country.
Khan’s comments arrive just days after the protests reached a boiling point in New Delhi. On July 20, the “Chalo Sansad” march organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Delhi Police intercepted the demonstrators. The confrontation led to a severe physical clash involving lathi-charges and tear gas that left multiple people injured on both sides.
That police response immediately triggered judicial scrutiny. The Delhi High Court officially intervened, issuing formal notices to the Centre and Delhi Police regarding three public interest litigations alleging excessive use of force. The court mandated the preservation of all CCTV footage from the protest site and scheduled further hearings for September 11.
While Khan is the first of the major “Khan troika” to publicly address the NEET controversy, he joins a larger wave of celebrity support that includes Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Prakash Raj, and Anurag Kashyap. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk escalated the tension further by launching an indefinite hunger strike to demand legal immunity for the CJP protesters.
Bollywood’s Political Reluctance Cracks Under Public Pressure
For years, mainstream Hindi cinema’s biggest stars have maintained a strict distance from domestic political unrest to protect box office returns. Khan breaking ranks to address the NEET-UG scandal signals a distinct shift in how untouchable these issues actually are. When a structural failure impacts millions of middle-class families simultaneously, the public expectation for celebrity advocacy overrides the traditional studio PR strategy of silence.
The timing is equally telling. By waiting until the demonstrations turned violent and the Delhi High Court intervened, Khan managed to validate the students’ core grievances while safely condemning the physical clashes. This careful needle-threading gives other A-list actors a blueprint to support the underlying educational reforms without endorsing the specific political parties attempting to lead the street marches.