India shuts down iconic Delhi protest site after three decades

For more than three decades, a stretch of road in central New Delhi was where Indians came to be heard, staging rallies to press their demands and hold those in power accountable. Trade unions, retired soldiers, anti-corruption campaigners, women’s rights groups and student activists all protested beside the capital’s iconic 18th-century Jantar Mantar observatory, drawn by its location near the city’s commercial heart and the seat of political power. But this week, the country’s most recognisable stage for public dissent officially lost its status as an authorised protest venue, prompting concerns among activists over shrinking democratic space. “Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified,” Delhi Police said in an order issued Monday.

Police detain All India party supporters during a protest demanding the resignation of the country’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Ahmedabad on October 13, 2026. —AFP The move comes days after a confrontation between authorities and anti-government protesters led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) online movement. The youth-led group has mobilised thousands to take to the streets over a revision to electoral rolls that critics say could disenfranchise eligible voters, months after separate protests over exam irregularities forced the education minister to resign. While authorities have designated three alternative demonstration venues in Delhi, campaigners say visibility and proximity to lawmakers are central to the right to protest in the world’s largest democracy. “Jantar Mantar is in the centre of the town, it is connected, it is next to parliament… it was a very important space for all protests,” human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi told AFP. “This is nothing but a move to curb dissent. ” ‘Spirit of…