Some 450 teachers are on a relay hunger strike in Kolkata, drawing public sympathy and the support of political parties that are rivals of the Trinamool Congress. All those sitting for four weeks have Masters in Art and Science as well as Bachelor of Education degrees. They took the School Service Commission exam in 2017 to teach Classes 9 to 12. But when the results came out, the merit list had them up in arms - it did not give the marks they had got in their written exam, viva and interview, but only a rank, with many sharing the same rank.