As a follow up of the agreement reached between the agitating students at Jantar-Mantar and the government of India recently, some pertinent and important questions have arisen that need answers. These answers have to come from the government, the leaders of the agitators of Jantar-Mantar, New Delhi, the political class of the nation, the civil society and the parents of the agitators. The way things were let loose by the organisers at the venue of the agitation and especially during the ‘Sansad-Chalo’ march on July 20, 2026, they have disturbed the very edifice of decency in public life, importance of moral values in society and also the public order.
In a democracy like India where diversity is a part of our civilization and culture, difference of opinion is a fact of life. We have existed despite and inspite of all these differences and diversity and marched ahead for the last thousands of years as a great civilization. When we got freedom from the British colonial rule in 1947, we chose parliamentary democracy and also adopted the constitution that showed us the way to run the chosen democracy and the democratic way of life.
However, though unfortunately, some politicians and their families after 1947 took it for granted to be in the government for all the times to come. The Congress led this notion successfully for a long time. The first family of Congress party, the Nehru-Gandhi family, took it as its entitlement to be in the government on a permanent basis. This false notion also travelled to other regional parties in the country in their own context. Congress always treated the intermittent rule by parties other than it at the Centre as a time-gap arrangement. This theory of time-gap arrangement was for the first time seriously challenged by the BJP in and after 2014.
The whole fuss among the parties in opposition and particularly the Congress is about the continuation of the Modi-led NDA-BJP government at the Centre for the third time continuously coupled with the establishment of same governments in most of the states in the country. The opposition, due to its own shortcomings, has failed to convince the general masses of the country about its genuineness in public life and has consistently failed to win elections in a row. Frustration in this regard has led it and particularly the Congress party, to adopt means that are socially, politically and morally unethical and unconvincing.
The first thing the opposition led by the Congress did over the last 12 years was to resort to oral diarrhea and using unparliamentary language that it adopted as a means to embarrass the government in power. Its statements, speeches, public behavior, role in the parliament and interactions with the government and in the media created a number of questions about the standards that it has set for itself. A number of times their leaders had to apologize in courts for their baseless statements issued against the Prime Minister and the other ministers in the cabinet. Its spokespersons on debates and discussions in the media followed their leaders and stooped extraordinarily low in their presentations. This scenario over the last more than a decade has definitely impacted the social fabric of the country; and mostly negatively.
Some of the media houses also, who arw in charge of news and views would not scrutinize the matter and take extra care about the content that would be published, broadcast or telecast on their domains. Live debates have become a big social nuisance in addition to creating noise pollution. Entertainment media, which includes TV channels and films in particular, has also added to this indecency and unbecoming conduct that is exhibited on a daily basis on them which families throughout the nation watch willingly and unwillingly. TRP has taken control of reason, logic, ethics, tradition and morality. This scenario has further worsened the family and social standards in general.
Protests, their content and outbursts and the kind of demonstrations held at Jantar-Mantar and outside were reflective of this social and family degradation at large. The upbringing of children by their families and also their schooling were brutally exposed bringing shame to the society. The demonstrators assembled there made it sure to put on record their indecent behaviour, ugly utterances and naked invectives against men, women, institutions and the government. They didn’t spare even the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, his late mother and his international acquaintances and friends notwithstanding the hard fact that he was elected for the third time as Prime Minister by virtue of the people’s mandate and was a highly recognized figure internationally.
It was stunning to note that besides the boys, some young girls in their fit of agitational craze at Jantar-Mantar used filthy language which even hardened criminals desist to use. They went berserk with their ugly body language, offensive overtures, vulgar dances and participation in violent acts against the police and the administration who were performing on the ground in line of their duty. Those protesters who had no relation whatsoever with the NEET and paper leaks were in command on 20 July 2026 on different routes to the parliament to damage public and private property.
An internal report of the police suggests that criminals and anti-social elements with the background of serious crimes joined the protests and received patronage of the organises of the event. According to an official report submitted by the Delhi Police to the government, an analysis of 2,873 participants at the July 20, 2026 Parliament protest march revealed that 989 individuals had prior criminal records involving heinous offenses, including 101 murder accused and others booked for robbery and assault.
The following detailed break up is highly disturbing in this context for anyone concerned. The details include: Murder-101, Attempt to murder-62, Dacoity/Robbery-284, Rape-61, POCSO-6, Molestation of women-25, Arms Act-229, Snatching-135, Kidnapping-19, NDPS-67 and other IPC/BNS & Special laws-1884. Police stated that no permission was granted for the Parliament march, leading to clashes that injured 118 police personnel. Law enforcement agencies also said that the presence of these individuals involved in rioting on 20 July 2026 is being scrutinized to determine if external criminal elements infiltrated the demonstration to trigger violence, attack police, and vandalize vehicles.
Meanwhile, student cases without a criminal history are reportedly being reviewed or dropped amid separate legal scrutiny’. Surprisingly, the organisers of the agitation, the CJP, publicly pressed for dropping of all FIRs against individuals which under the circumstances seems unlikely to happen. Sonam Wangchuk, who already left for Ladakh is on record suggesting that the peaceful agitators need not to be booked by the police. However, he chose to be silent about the violent ones against whom the police have moved as per the law of the land.
The fact of the matter is that this is not an end in itself. The way things moved during the month of July 2026 even after the end of the agitation raises a number of doubts about the future course of events. Forces, in and outside the country, bent upon disturbing the advance march of India and the Indian society need only an excuse to play their games. The course correction so far as reform in educational policy and NEET system is concerned was tried to be bulldozed when the Congress and some other opposition parties in parliament opposed the very introduction of the Bill to deal with the issue. But they know it better that the treasury benches can bulldoze their very opposition to it by passing the Bill on their own strength.
The forces that are hell bent upon to make anarchy in the country, abuse in the parliament and indecency on roads the new normal need to be told categorically that it can’t happen whatsoever be the cost. The government of the day is required to take the necessary corrective and decisive action forthwith. Damage is already done; the society needs to have a deep introspection, so the families as well. This is clearly the responsibility of all the organs of the society to respond to the historical call that awaits resolution for the generations to come.
