Uttar Pradesh: 'Gen Z' Cycle Yatra Takes Off from Gorakhpur, Demands Annual Recruitment Calendar
New Delhi: A group comprising 20-25 job aspirants from Uttar Pradesh’s Purvanchal (East Uttar Pradesh) and Awadh (central Uttar Pradesh) regions who have come together under the banner of ‘Justice Morcha’ began their cycle yatra on August 20, 2026 from Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, the home turf of chief minister Adityanath with a focus on highlighting issues related to employment and filling up vacant posts.
Calling it a ‘Gen Z Connect Yatra’, the latest youth-led initiative is going by the slogan “Chauri Chaura se Lucknow tak; Cycle chalegi, sawal uthenge, yuva judenge (From Chauri Chaura to Lucknow, the cycle will take this route, raising questions and mobilising the youth).” The cycle yatra is scheduled to go through all the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh between August 20 to October 2, with the journey culminating in Lucknow.
State govt should release recruitment calendar
Speaking to The Wire, Sudhanshu Bajpai, one of the conveners of the Gen Z Cycle Yatra said, “We have a ten-demand charter in which two issues are of utmost importance. Firstly vacancies [in various government departments] across Uttar Pradesh should be filled and a recruitment calendar should be issued for the same. So the state government should inform us beforehand when we can submit applications and when exactly the results will be declared. Secondly, an arbitrary fee structure is in place across schools in Uttar Pradesh so we want this to be capped through a fee regulation Bill.”
Some of the demands among the ten-point charter put forth by the ‘Justice Morcha’ include: release a recruitment calendar so that vacancies are filled up in a time-bound manner; all vacancies across government departments be filled up as soon as possible; cases filed against students in connection with the paper leak protests be taken back and every candidate should be issued a score card after the exam.
The demand charter has also called for the process of normalisation of marks to be done away with completely. As reported by The Wire earlier in June, when the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had joined student protesters in Lucknow, one set of demand by those who participated in the agitation back then was that they should be provided with shift-wise normalisation data in connection with the Uttar Pradesh Police Sub Inspector exam.
Normalisation, here, refers to a formula, proposed by Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment & Promotion Board (UPPRPB )in 2023, in order to ensure parity for candidates appearing for an exam in different shifts.
When asked about how a recruitment calendar can further help in streamlining the hiring process for government jobs, Bajpai said, “In the year 2022, exams were held in Uttar Pradesh for the position of assistant professor. Forms were filled up and exams finally took place in 2025 only to be cancelled owing to paper leak.”
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The instance referred to here is related to the assistant professor recruitment examination conducted in April 2025 by the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) which was cancelled after Uttar Pradesh Police’ Special Task Force (STF) received inputs about certain malpractices linked to the exam.
“Filling up of vacancies through exams conducted by the government shouldn’t be a panch-varshiya karyakram (five-year programme) which takes five years to reach the stage of declaration of final results,” Justice Morcha’s convener Bajpai told this reporter.
Students demand more jobs
In his first ‘Chatron ki Goonj’ programme conducted in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on August 8, 2026, Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, had also emphasised on the need for job creation during his interaction with students.
The Wire in its ground report from Prayagraj did catch up with some student attendants at the programme, some of whom like those under the banner of Bhartiya Apprentice Mazdoor Association had been caught in a tussle with the Indian Railways since 2014.
Their only demand since the last 12 years has been that provisions be made for contractual jobs for such candidates who have completed the apprenticeship programme with the railways.
When asked about whether the outfit has any political affiliation, Bajpai told The Wire, “Most of the participants who have joined us are independent students from various universities. We are not affiliated to any political party. At the same time, we would also like to state that even if an individual belonging to a certain party supports us in asking questions, even if he’s from the BJP, all such persons are most welcome.”
This article went live on August twenty-first, two thousand twenty six, at forty-six minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
