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........

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