Last night, just a few minutes shy of 8.30, the police resorted to tear gas to disperse a swelling crowd near one of the entry points to the Jantar Mantar (JM) protest site. What I witnessed afterwards was remarkable, though not entirely surprising given the course of the last 72 hours. The crowd scattered, only to return in even larger numbers, sitting down where the tear gas had been fired and refusing to move. When it finally did move, it broke into smaller groups — some people walked towards the main protest site, others chanted slogans, while a few danced to the beat of a dhol.

If the July 20 crackdown was the state’s strategy to deter citizens from protesting, the days that followed suggest it has had the opposite effect. Not only had the JM protest site re-established itself within hours of being cleared on Monday, but it drew a steady stream of people throughout the following day. By Tuesday evening, the gathering had swelled to the point where the queue outside was at times nearly as large as the crowd inside. Wednesday evening drew even bigger crowds. Volunteers formed human chains to regulate the flow of people into the site.

Amid chants demanding education reform, snacks, juice and water were distributed and music blared from loudspeakers to keep those waiting occupied. Full meals, ordered through delivery apps by supporters in Delhi and beyond, arrived throughout the evening, while others quietly cleared the garbage as it accumulated.

All these are signs that the protest has begun to sustain itself, relying no longer solely on its organisers but on the thousands who have made it their own. As........

© Indian Express