The Cockroach Janta Party, these young folks who got fed up with being called names, wanted to gather at Jantar Mantar. They’re saying the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, messed up the voter lists big time with that Special Intensive Revision thing. Lots of people who should be on the rolls got dropped, they claim, and they want him out. Simple as that.
Police said no chance. Permission denied. And then the city just shut down around them. Forty-five metro stations closed their gates from last night till 6 this evening. Almost 250 trains cancelled. Internet cut off in a four-kilometre circle around the protest spot. Liquor shops closed. Borders sealed tight. Twenty-five thousand cops and paramilitary out on the streets. It felt like the whole capital was put under a lid.
By the afternoon the numbers of people detained were climbing fast. Some reports said two thousand, others pushed it to three and a half or even four thousand when you count the ones grabbed overnight. Leaders got taken early. Abhijeet Dipke and two of his mates were pulled straight off the plane from Mumbai while they were still sitting in their seats. Dhruv Rathee, the YouTuber everyone knows, was picked up from his house in Gurugram. About a hundred lawyers got rounded up near the Supreme Court and packed off to stadiums. Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, a bunch of other opposition people—same story. Stadiums turned into temporary holding pens. Anyone trying to get near the area got stopped at the border or the station.
CJP says they’re not done. They put Ajinkya Shinde in charge while the top guys are held. Police call it preventive detention—no cases filed in most places, just keep them off the streets for up to a day. Same thing happened in Mumbai; people getting picked up at Nana Chowk and August Kranti Maidan when they tried to show support.
Meanwhile over in London, thousands walked for Palestine. The National March started around midday from Victoria Embankment, crossed Westminster Bridge, went along the South Bank, Waterloo, Strand, and finished with a rally in Whitehall. Police were ready for seven to ten thousand. Organisers say more. They’re calling for the fighting in Gaza to stop, for Britain to quit selling arms to Israel, and for sanctions. Face coverings had to come off or you risked arrest. A small counter-group was out too. A few people got arrested, including over placards linked to banned organisations. First proper big march in months, right after the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
France is still in the middle of its school protest wave. Kids have been blocking high schools for weeks because there aren’t enough teachers, classes are packed, buildings are falling apart, and the cuts keep coming. Government says about 141 schools were still shut yesterday. Education minister promised three thousand extra teachers for the worst-hit places. Student unions called it a first small win but said they’re not stopping—more action planned for Tuesday. Thousands injured over the weeks, mostly teenagers, plus teachers and police. Parents and unions joined in. Started in the poorer suburbs and just kept spreading.
Belgium had its own mess on Friday. Unions and students out on a national strike against budget cuts. Main march was peaceful with around thirty thousand, but smaller groups threw stuff, set fires, and police answered with water cannon and tear gas. Twenty-one detained, including some minors.
Spain’s housing protests are still going after that 87-year-old woman, Maricarmen Abascal, died. Her eviction set everything off. Tens of thousands have been out. Government called a snap election and rushed some housing measures, but the anger is still there.
There’s bits of other stuff too—more Palestine actions in different cities, people angry about ICE shootings in the US—but Delhi and London were the ones filling the feeds today. In Delhi it felt like the authorities decided no one was going to gather at all. In London it stayed more controlled under the police rules.
Folks on every side keep saying the same thing: they’re not walking away. Whether it’s the voter lists, the schools, the houses, or Gaza, the frustration is real and the numbers showing up prove it. If you’re anywhere near these places, keep your eyes open—roads close quick and the phones can go quiet without warning.
Sources:
Indian Express, The Hindu, The Wire, Times of India, ET Now, Mid-Day, Aaj Tak, The Print, Bloomberg via The Star, Metropolitan Police statements, Evening Standard, ITV News, AFP, Reuters, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, France 24.
@Rohit Manral
