'Mini-India', a space for all: Jantar Mantar's special place on Delhi's protest map
Here's the latest protest news from across India:
Till the early 1990s, Jantar Mantar, an 18th century astronomical observatory built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur, was a part of the list of places to sightsee in Delhi , and school students were taken there for annual excursions. In fact, the Misra Yantra inside the Jantar Mantar observatory complex was the inspiration behind the logo of the Asian Games held in New Delhi in 1982.
Adding to this, But Jantar Mantar was not always associated with protesters and posters or barricades and banners. In fact, Boat Club lawns were the preferred protest site, and in 1988, farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait led the most significant protest there that lasted a week and saw lakhs of people. Five years later, protests and rallies were banned at Boat Club and the road abutting Jantar Mantar was notified as a designated protest site.
Meanwhile, Called “Mini India” by historian Ramchandra Guha , neem-lined Jantar Mantar is the site that people from across the country gather hoping to be heard. Guha in 'India After Gandhi' describes the transition in 1990s. He notes that Rajpath , where the grounds meant to be empty except on ceremonial days, had become a village of tents, each with colourful placards hung outside it. The people within these tents and the causes they upheld were ever changing. The hill peasants replaced by industrial workers; the Maharashtra farmers by Tibetan refugees; the Konkani speakers by Hindu monks demanding a ban on cow slaughter.
Notably, "In the early nineties, these tents were summarily dismantled by a government worried about the impression made on foreign visitors by such open expression of dissent. Rajpath was vacated of encroachments and the lawns restored to their former glory but the protesters regrouped, and relocated. They now placed themselves a mile to the north-west, next to the Jantar Mantar observatory in Connaught Place. Here they were away from the eyes of the state, but directly in view of the citizens who daily passed through this busy shopping district," Guha writes.
As per the latest buzz, For 33 years, the half a kilometer stretch near the observatory has provided space for all, measuring public discontent, bringing together farmers, workers, veterans, students, activists and citizens protesting against decisions they believed had left them unheard. On an average, the Parliament Street police station receives more than 24,000 requests for permission to hold protests every year. One could walk on this half a kilometer stretch on single street to get a glimpse of grievances across India.
In further updates, In 2017, Tamil Nadu farmers with mice in their hands or their mouths who wanted to draw attention of the government to the agrarian crisis reached Jantar Mantar. In same year, a man from Madhya Pradesh had spent years protesting against government documents declaring him dead and lived in Jantar Mantar. Eleven ex-servicemen recorded the over 700 days of their relay hunger strike for one-rank-one-pension to followers of Asaram Bapu and Rampal who had spent years camping on Mantar, trying to persuade the authorities to free their jailed gurus.
On top of that, The initial protests of the Anna Hazare movement started from Jantar Mantar in April 2011. Not to forget the annual Delhi Queer Pride parade. In 2105, retired Indian military and paramilitary personnel sat there and demanded fair implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP), with subsequent demonstrations and re-gatherings taking place in 2016, 2019. Parents, relatives and friends of murdered Noida teen Arushi Talwar demanded justice at Jantar Mantar in 2011 and 2013. Even followers of jailed self-styled godmen; animal lovers against use of cow’s milk; dog haters; members of Akhil Bharatiya Joota Maaro Andolan; and a sole protester from Chandauli who believed satellites hacked into people’s brains in his hometown have found themselves at Jantar Mantar over the years.
On Monday, the Jantar Mantar has been de-notified as a designated protest venue. An order issued by the Delhi Commissioner of Police Anurag Kumar states that based on recommendations of committee Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified. Three new venues-- Ramlila ground, Burari ground and CBD ground in East Delhi have been designated as new venues for protests and demonstrations.
Source: Hindustan Times