Government Is Making Every Place A Jantar Mantar
· Free Press Journal
The decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site is ill-advised and betrays a disturbing lack of faith in democracy. When the police refused protesters permission to assemble there on October 10, they gathered wherever they could. Every available space became a makeshift Jantar Mantar. As a wag remarked, the whole country had become one giant Jantar Mantar. The government seems to have learnt the wrong lesson from this spontaneous defiance. Instead of recognising that people have grievances that deserve to be heard, it has chosen to restrict the space available for dissent. Jantar Mantar was not traditionally Delhi’s protest hub. For decades, the Boat Club lawns near India Gate hosted massive demonstrations and public meetings. The restrictions imposed after the huge farmers’ rally led by Mahendra Singh Tikait in 1988 eventually pushed protests away from this prestigious area.
Jantar Mantar’s Place In Delhi’s Protest History
By 1993, Jantar Mantar had emerged as the designated venue. Its location near the seats of power made it convenient for protesters, while its narrow approaches made it easier for the police to regulate crowds. Now, by de-notifying the site, the authorities are tampering with a landmark that has acquired its own place in Delhi’s democratic history. The irony is that the government itself chose Jantar Mantar as a manageable alternative to the Boat Club. Having channelled dissent into a relatively confined space for decades, it now wants to move protesters to Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground, and CBD Ground, away from the heart of the capital. This is no minor administrative adjustment. The location of a protest matters because demonstrations are intended not merely to bring people together but also to make their demands visible to those in power. A democratic government should be wary of creating conditions in which the suppression of public expression becomes more important than addressing public grievances.
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Protest Sites As Symbols Of Dissent
Authorities must also understand that protest sites are not created by government notifications alone. In London, demonstrators gather at Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square, and Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park. In Washington, the National Mall and Lafayette Square have witnessed historic movements. In Berlin, Alexanderplatz and the Brandenburg Gate remain powerful symbols of public dissent. These places matter because people have invested them with meaning through generations of struggle. Jantar Mantar, too, has acquired that significance.
Democracy Must Make Space For Protest
Protests and demonstrations are indispensable to democracy, not an inconvenience to be eliminated. People who feel aggrieved by a government decision must have peaceful avenues to express themselves. Allowing them to release their anger is wiser than forcing resentment underground, where it may grow more dangerous. Governments can relocate crowds, erect barricades, and issue prohibitory orders, but they cannot legislate away discontent. Every place can become Jantar Mantar when people believe that those in power have stopped listening.