\n<\/p>\n
What is the point of a protest?<\/b><\/p>\n
To raise your voice against injustice? To draw attention to a cause? Or to make those in power uncomfortable enough to listen?<\/p>\n
For more than three decades, Indians have tried to do all three in a narrow, tree-lined road near Jantar Mantar, an 18th Century astronomical obervatory in Delhi.<\/p>\n
But that may now be coming to an end.<\/p>\n
This week, Delhi Police said Jantar Mantar, located close to parliament, would no longer be a designated protest site.<\/p>\n
The decision comes months after the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) – not a political party but a collective which began as a joke<\/a> – led a massive protest there demanding the resignation of federal education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Tens of thousands turned up and Pradhan subsequently resigned.<\/p>\n Police barricaded Jantar Mantar soon afterwards, preventing further demonstrations. Last week, an attempt by CJP supporters to march there, this time demanding the resignation of India’s election chief, ended in a police crackdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Protesters have now been directed to three other sites. Two are far from parliament, while the third, the sprawling Ramlila Ground, is often booked months in advance. Unlike Jantar Mantar, which is free, all three charge tens of thousands of rupees a day.<\/p>\n