Several detained as anti-reservation protesters gather at Jantar Mantar despite no police nod

As security was tightened around the protest site against the backdrop of a heavy turnout, PTI documented, the Delhi Police on Friday detained a number of protesters who gathered at Jantar Mantar for an anti-reservation demonstration.

Key points

• The protesters additionally triggered concern concerning the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and higher education policies, including the University Grants Commission framework.
• Some protesters additionally demanded the introduction of a creamy-layer criterion in reservation and changes to policies concerning Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
• The Delhi Police remarked no permission had been granted for any protest, procession, demonstration or assembly at Jantar Mantar.
• The page has 5.6 million followers on Instagram, PTI documented.
• The protesters demanded that economic circumstances be considered when determining who should receive administration assistance, including backing for education, coaching and other needs.

As sizeable crowds gathered at the site carrying banners, posters and saffron flags and raising slogans against caste-based reservation, visuals indicated police personnel detaining a number of protesters, most of them men.

Notably, the protesters had been mobilised through social media for the demonstration, demanding that economic criteria be given greater weight than caste in determining eligibility for administration backing and reservation.

While barricades were erected to regulate the movement of individuals towards Jantar Mantar, police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed at key points in the area ahead of the protest.

In practice, the Delhi Police remarked no permission had been granted for any protest, procession, demonstration or assembly at Jantar Mantar.

Nevertheless, an official communication from the office of the Central District DCP stated a no-objection certificate (NOC) had been issued for a peaceful protest under the banner of "Reservation Hatao Andolan" at Ramlila Ground.

Meanwhile, the NOC permitted a maximum of 500 individuals to gather at Ramlila Maidan until 4 pm, with police stating that they had "no objection" to the protest there from a law-and-order perspective, according to the communication cited by PTI.

Meanwhile, the protest campaign was spearheaded by "Reservation Hatao Andolan", an Instagram-based page that afterwards appealed to its followers to participate in a physical demonstration at Jantar Mantar on August 21. The page has 5.6 million followers on Instagram, PTI documented.

Meanwhile, the protesters demanded that economic circumstances be considered when determining who should receive administration assistance, including backing for education, coaching and other needs.

"Our demand is that economic condition should be considered while deciding who needs administration backing. A poor person, irrespective of caste, should be provided assistance for education, coaching and other needs, " a protester associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha was quoted as saying by PTI.

Another participant pressed a review of the existing reservation system, arguing that its benefits did not always reach the most disadvantaged sections.

"We have been raising this matter for a number of years. Our contention is that the administration should examine whether the present system is achieving its intended purpose and whether benefits are reaching residents at the grassroots level, " he noted, according to PTI.

"We are not saying that economically weaker individuals should be left without backing. We are saying that assistance should be targeted at those who need it, including through scholarships, fee backing and coaching, " another protester stated.

For context, the protesters additionally triggered concern concerning the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and higher education policies, including the University Grants Commission framework.

One participant questioned the continuation of reservation provisions decades after their introduction and pressed a review of the policy in light of present-day social and economic conditions.

"The circumstances have changed considerably over the decades. There should be a wider discussion on whether the existing framework needs to be reviewed and how economic disadvantage can be addressed without discrimination, " he remarked.

Some protesters additionally alleged that internet jammers had been deployed around the protest site, making it challenging to access social media. The claim could not be independently verified, PTI documented.

In short, several detained as anti-reservation protesters gather at Jantar Mantar despite no police is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.