Union Home Ministry accountable for police action at Jantar Mantar: NAPM

By A Representative 

The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) has condemned what it described as the "brutal and unprovoked" police action against peaceful students, youth, parents and citizens who gathered at Jantar Mantar and nearby areas in New Delhi on July 20 to protest against alleged failures in the country's public examination and education system. In a statement issued on July 23, the organisation alleged that the police response represented a serious assault on democratic rights and called for accountability, judicial inquiries and dialogue with protesters.

According to NAPM, students had been protesting peacefully for nearly a month over repeated examination paper leaks, irregularities in recruitment processes, cancellation of competitive examinations, delays in appointments and the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The organisation said these issues had eroded public confidence in the education system and affected the aspirations of millions of students. It also argued that the movement reflected wider concerns over the privatisation and commercialisation of education, declining public investment and the exclusion of disadvantaged sections from equitable educational opportunities.

The organisation alleged that despite repeated appeals from students, parents, civil society groups and opposition leaders, the government did not engage in meaningful dialogue. It also referred to prolonged hunger strikes by activists, including Sonam Wangchuk and student leaders, claiming that these protests failed to elicit an official response before being withdrawn following appeals from civil society and opposition figures.

NAPM claimed that between 20,000 and 30,000 people had assembled on the opening day of Parliament and attempted to march peacefully towards Parliament to press for accountability. It alleged that Delhi Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and lathi charges against unarmed protesters, including women and students, resulting in several injuries. The organisation further cited allegations by participants regarding the involvement of unidentified plain-clothes personnel and the use of modified batons, calling for these claims to be investigated through an independent judicial inquiry.

Holding the Union Ministry of Home Affairs politically responsible for the actions of the Delhi Police, which functions under its administrative control, NAPM alleged that the incident reflected a broader pattern of suppressing democratic dissent. The organisation claimed that farmers, workers, women, Adivasis, Dalits, minorities, environmental activists and students increasingly faced police action, surveillance, arbitrary detention and criminal cases instead of democratic engagement. It also expressed concern over what it described as attempts to portray peaceful protesters as violent and warned against the filing of false cases against student leaders and activists.

Invoking Article 19 of the Constitution, NAPM said the rights to free speech, peaceful assembly and democratic protest are fundamental guarantees and not concessions by the State. It argued that demanding accountability from governments and public institutions is an essential feature of democracy and that institutional reform and dialogue, rather than police action, should be the response to public criticism.

The organisation demanded an immediate, independent and time-bound judicial inquiry into the police action on July 20, accountability for officials in the Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, withdrawal of any false cases against protesters, medical assistance and compensation for those injured, and an independent inquiry into the functioning of the National Testing Agency and the public examination system. It also called for structural reforms to ensure transparency and fairness in examinations and recruitment, political accountability including the resignation of the Union Education Minister over repeated institutional failures, meaningful dialogue between the government and student representatives, and an end to what it termed the criminalisation of democratic dissent.

Reaffirming its solidarity with the student movement, NAPM said the future of Indian democracy depended on protecting the right to peaceful protest and addressing public grievances through dialogue rather than repression.