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Anyone wanting to make sense of the senseless police brutality on the students protest march to parliament on Monday (July 20) will need to recall the chronology. It all begins a few days earlier, on July 17, 2026.

Suddenly and inexplicably the Delhi Police Commissioner is unceremoniously replaced, that too just after 11 months in office. It was being suggested the change had become necessary because there was widespread corruption in Delhi Police. The evidence cited against him was the presumed involvement of one inspector in an extortion gang. Are you serious? By that standard, every single cabinet minister (including the much controversial education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan) as also every single chief minister ought to have been sacked many a time over. 

The real reason for change of guards in Delhi Police had to do with a fast in progress at Jantar Mantar. The decision to allow Sonam Wangchuk to pitch his tent could not – simply could not – be a decision taken by the Delhi police brass. Police commissioners are not allowed any initiative or imagination by the overlords in the Union home ministry. The decision to “let Sonam Wangchuk do his act” was a call made by the political boss. The political judgment, probably, was that the Ladakh activist will fold up his tent in a few days – or, ‘street power’ could be deployed to make him fold up. 

The home minister, for once, had made a bad political judgment. He under-estimated the sense of frustration and anger that propels the Jantar Mantar crowd, as he also overestimated the regime’s popularity and acceptability. Sheer bad judgment. The hunger strike did not fizzle out and the bad odour of bad press reached........

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