India’s Young Protesters Are Bloodied but Unbowed
A day after police forcibly broke up demonstrations, thousands returned to the protest site in New Delhi to keep pushing for action over the country’s failings in education.
By Pragati K.B. Anupreeta Das and Alex Travelli
The reporters were at the main protest site and surrounding streets filled with protesters and security forces.
They flocked to New Delhi by the thousands. Young Indians demanding accountability from their government for a flawed education system, hoping for a promise or a signal from those in power that would reassure them about their futures.
Instead, the throng of protesters who tried to march to Parliament on Monday were confronted by security forces, batons in hand, tear gas canisters ready. As the crowd swelled, the police cracked down, striking people’s shins, calves and backs, swinging their staves overheard. Protesters hurled flip flops and water bottles back. Many rushed to escape through back alleys and side roads. Plumes of tear gas left people choking.
The protesters — mostly young people who chanted slogans, carried posters or stood quietly in solidarity — said they were shocked by the police crackdown and the lack of any real government response. By Tuesday, their sense of anger remained palpable as thousands returned to the protest site near Jantar Mantar, an 18th century observatory, undeterred by spurts of monsoon rain.
