Walk explores Jantar Mantar
NEWDELHI: Social activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey took a group of 16 enthusiasts on a walking tour of Jantar Mantar Road, which, till recently, was the protest hub of New Delhi.
People’s theatre person Shankar Singh also accompanied the group on the tour, which was organised as part of the Delhi Walk Festival.
The group consisted of students, lawyers, a filmmaker, an art curator, a professional gardener, and a doctor. The walk started at 9 am.
Instead of the usual squatters, tents, banners and placards that once lined the streets, the group was greeted by potted plants. The National Green Tribunal had ordered last month that the protesters be evicted from Jantar Mantar.
Roy and others told the participants about the protests that were held at Jantar Mantar over the years, including the fight for Right to Information, the agitation to ensure pensions for senior citizens, the ones to preserve NREGA, among others. “Kejriwal ko apni seat bhi yahin se mili thi,” quipped Singh.
During the walk from the Patel Chowk station, through the Jantar Mantar Road, to the Jantar Mantar monument, Roy said the NGT order violates the constitutional right of the people to peacefully protest and their freedom of expression.
“For the people of India, the streets is (sic) our parliament... So any denial of your right to dissent or express an opinion or even to celebrate on the street, is a denial of basic democratic and fundamental rights,” said Roy.
Recalling the time when the protest site had been shifted from Boat Club to Jantar Mantar in the early 90s, Dey said that though Jantar Mantar was not considered an ideal place, and people were unhappy then too, the fear of losing democratic spaces was not as much as it was today.
“This tension of space has increased as we moved away from independence. There were leaders who had gone to jail and come into power. So they understood the importance of giving space,” he said.