Thousands protest caste-based reservation, demand reforms in New Delhi
New Delhi: Thousands of people gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to stage a protest against caste-based reservation and demand reforms to India’s reservation system.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the protest was called by ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, an Instagram page campaigning against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and aspects of higher education policy, including the University Grants Commission (UGC) framework. The campaign has 5.6 million followers on Instagram and had called on supporters to gather in Delhi on Friday (August 21).
Protesters from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and other states reached Jantar Mantar despite initial Delhi Police statements that permission had not been granted for a demonstration at the site. Police later said the protest had been permitted at Ramlila Ground, but many protesters refused to relocate.
Hundreds of demonstrators remained at Jantar Mantar and faced off with Indian forces’ personnel behind barricades. Around 2 p.m., police opened the barricades as protesters raised slogans against caste-based reservation and demanded the rollback of the UGC framework. By evening, protesters had erected a stage carrying a banner reading “Reservation Reform Satyagraha.”
The protest also drew support from Ajeet Bharti, a YouTuber and political commentator, who said he attended as a supporter rather than an organiser.
The issue of how reservation should be reformed was central to several conversations at the protest. One participant put the wider frustration in broader political terms. “I feel the government is focusing too much on religion, caste and communities. It is time the government should address real issues like reservation,” the protestor said.
Around 7:30 p.m., police announced through loudspeakers that the gathering had been declared illegal and began removing protesters in buses. Those being taken away reportedly raised slogans criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the police action. The protesters charged, “Jab jab Modi darta hai, police ko aage karta hai”, a slogan that was recently popularised during the police action on students marching to the Indian parliament.
The dispersal did not immediately end the protest, as some demonstrators regrouped at several locations in central Delhi, including Connaught Place, Janpath and Ashoka Road.
