A Besieged Capital, A Paranoid Government

The jailing of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka for five days for “repeated violation of law and order” is an indication of the extreme paranoia that has seized the government. For the past week, the entire capital city has become a jail, with hundreds of protesters being carted in dingy blue vans of the Delhi Police to various police stations and, since those were overflowing, to the suburban Chhatrasal Stadium, converted temporarily into a jail. Everything seems to be a jail in Delhi, and over 25,000 policemen from various genres of police forces, with different uniforms—blue, camouflage, military and khaki—have been roaming as if the city belongs to them. They, of course, are looking for one more “troublemaker” to be sent to jail or, well, the stadium. Now, we see a unique situation where the stadium is not filled with the tricolour of triumph but a fluttering tricolour of protest.

Jantar Mantar And The Right To Protest

Das and Ranka’s immediate crime, apart from various other crimes that the state accuses them of, is raising the national flag in an area that has been de-notified as a protest site. That area, Jantar Mantar, is part of India’s history of protest and rebellion by the oppressed and voiceless masses. For the Delhi Police to de-notify it as a protest site is nothing short of brazenness, which has characterised the government’s actions against protesters.

“Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar is a peaceful protest and is not a crime. We will reclaim Jantar Mantar,” Rahul Gandhi said. Das and Ranka are likely to be released without any legal ground for arrest, but the fact that these student leaders were sent to Tihar Jail by an executive magistrate (a police officer) and not a judicial magistrate shows the level of paranoia that has engulfed the government in Delhi, where a sort of paralysis has set in.

Police Action Risks Escalating Protests

The ongoing protests have, by all means, been peaceful but not devoid of passion and anger. For the police to overreach and even haul in and detain media persons and lawyers is unacceptable and must be condemned by everyone who believes that only democracy can hold India together, not the high-handedness of the police. The use of force will only strengthen Gen Z, which loves the boulevards of Delhi, where once the British forces trampled upon freedom fighters. Today, the fighters are the same Indians, but the oppressors have changed colours, though their methodology remains the same—aggressive.

Peaceful Protest Must Be Allowed

Wiser counsel must prevail in the government, which should allow peaceful protests to continue until a solution can be found. After all, a street is not just for commuting; it is also a theatre where democracy is the permanent play. That cannot be de-notified.

Published on: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 08:28 PM IST