In recent years, the right to assemble, demonstrate, and protest—one of the cornerstones of democracy—has been severely curtailed in India, particularly in the capital city of Delhi. The right to peaceful protest, promised under the Indian Constitution, has come under intense scrutiny, with the state frequently invoking laws, ordinances, and vague security concerns to suppress public dissent. This trend has raised questions about the extent to which the people of India can trust existing legal systems and institutions to safeguard their fundamental rights.
The most recent example of this occurred when protests against the Israeli state’s barbaric actions in Gaza were banned in Delhi. As international condemnation grew over the atrocities committed in Gaza, concerned activists sought to voice their concerns in the capital. In August, Delhi Police detained prominent activists over a silent display of solidarity with the people of Palestine at the APJ Abdul Kalam crossing in the national capital – despite the activists having informed cops of their protest. The march, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was stopped by the police as it headed towards the Israeli Embassy. This suppression of protest reflects a dangerous erosion of democratic space, where global concerns are silenced within our own borders.
Another striking example was the treatment of the Kisan (farmer) protests. In the aftermath of the anti-kisan farm laws introduced in 2020, lakhs of farmers, particularly from UP, Punjab and Haryana, sought to enter Delhi to register their dissent. For over a year, these farmers camped on the borders of the capital, demanding the repeal of laws they believed would devastate their livelihoods. Instead of engaging in dialogue, the government frequently employed heavy-handed measures—erecting barricades, cutting off essential services, and attempting to delegitimise the movement. Farmers were prevented from peacefully entering the city, underscoring how the state can limit citizens’ right to protest.
A third disturbing instance involved the banning of protests in response to the rape and murder of a doctor in RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. While citizens expressed their outrage and demanded justice, the administration swiftly clamped down on protests. The Delhi Police filed an FIR against 21 doctors from prominent hospitals, including AIIMS and Safdarjung, following their protest outside Nirman Bhawan. The doctors were charged under Section 143 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for unlawful assembly as well as for violating a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Such incidents illustrate that even in cases of gross human rights violations, the state can stifle protests under the pretext of maintaining public order. This leaves people disillusioned, as they see their calls for justice being met with censorship instead of action.
Recently, around 120 people from Ladakh who had marched to the national capital demanding sixth schedule status for the Union Territory, were detained by the Delhi Police at the city’s border.
The Indian Constitution lists a range of fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of speech, expression, assembly, and association. However, recent events have demonstrated that these rights are not inviolable. Instead, they are contingent upon the whims of those in charge of executive power. They can easily deprive people of their rights under the pretext of maintaining law and order or national security.
The right to peaceful protest is outlined in Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, which list freedom of speech and the right to assemble peacefully as fundamental rights. However, under Article 19(2), the state can impose “reasonable restrictions” in the interest of public order, security, and sovereignty. This provision, while being justified in the name of preventing threats to national security, has increasingly been used to clamp down on dissent, even when protests are non-violent and peaceful. The broad and vague nature of the so-called reasonable restrictions makes it easy for the government of the day to abuse its power, especially when the protest challenges the interests of the rich and powerful in society.
The fact that the fundamental rights in the Constitution are not guaranteed raises a more profound question: Can people truly trust the existing political system to protect their fundamental freedoms? The answer, as recent events suggest, is no. Institutions that were meant to guarantee and uphold democratic rights have increasingly been deployed by those in power to stifle dissent rather than promote democratic participation of people in day to day affairs of the country. Whether it is protests against economic policies, human rights violations, or geopolitical issues, the state’s response has been to suppress rather than engage with people.
These events underscore the urgent need for a profound transformation of the political system. A system that allows the curtailment of fundamental rights on flimsy grounds is not truly democratic. People cannot continue to live in a political setup where their rights are contingent on the goodwill of those in positions of authority. Instead, they must fight for a new political system where human rights, including economic, political, and civil rights, are inviolable and cannot be taken away under any pretext. The Constitution must guarantee their inviolability.
There is a need for a new political system in which the fundamental rights of the people are protected under all circumstances. This includes the right to protest, the right to speak out against injustice, and the right to demand accountability from those in power. The current political setup, which allows for the arbitrary curtailment of these rights, must be dismantled in favour of a new system where rights are not just empty promises but guaranteed in theory and practice.
For this transformation to occur, people’s organisations must come together to demand change. Movements for human rights, democratic rights and economic justice must unify to create a common platform for political reform. The path ahead may not be easy, but the consistent denial of democratic rights has shown that the status quo cannot continue. A new political system—one that genuinely protects the rights and freedoms of all citizens—must be built if India is to remain a truly democratic state.
In conclusion, the recent actions of the Delhi administration in curbing protests, whether against atrocities in Gaza, agricultural policies, or human rights violations, reveal the fragility of the rights promised by the Constitution. This demands not just reform but a fundamental transformation of the political system, where people have inviolable rights, and the state is held accountable for safeguarding them.
Source of image: https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/farmers-protest-tear-gas-fired-again-at-punjab-haryana-border-as-farmers-resume-march-to-delhi-417422-2024-02-14
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