Revision as of 14:55, 29 June 2015

Number of protests, year-wise: 2008-11

Jantar Mantar

Neeraj Chauhan TNN

The Times of India, Aug 8, 2011

Delhi Police claims there could be law and order problems if it allows the Gandhian crusader against corruption to sit on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar along with thousands of his followers for more than a day or two.

But according to Delhi Police itself, on an average, over 2,000 demonstrations, dharnas and rallies involving three to five lakh people are held here every year and over 80,000 security personnel get deployed to manage them. Very few of these protests turn violent, most go on silently for months, some even for years.

The rebirth of this astronomical observatory of the 18th century as the breeding ground of protests occurred in 1993 when the Narasimha Rao government banned such activities at the Boat Club. Since then, it has been witness to every major and minor protest in the capital, including the AIIMS agitation, farmers’ protest and Hazare’s first phase of campaign against corruption.

On an average, 10 to 15 rallies/protests take place daily and police arrangements are always in place. The number of personnel varies though, depending on the need of the situation. Delhi Police says that till July 31 this year, 880 protests have taken place at Jantar Mantar and the nearby areas.

While 1,031,860 people have participated in them, 41,940 officers have been deployed for these protests marked under different categories — demonstrations (570), rallies (37), dharnas (216) and strikes/ hunger strikes (57). Officials say this year’s figure has been the highest in the past few years because of Hazare’s previous campaign.

People from every corner of the country could be seen here through out the year, raising different issues. “I have been posted here at Parliament Street police station for the past two-and-a-half years. I everyday see people coming from different places. Somebody has an individual problem of his department not giving him his dues, someone wants to root out corruption from the country or someone else may be fighting cruelty against animals. Some of them stay here for several months,” said a cop.