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The development from the Boat Club to Jantar Mantar shows how the Indian state has tried to balance protecting the democratic right to protest while securing an administrative territory.
Jantar Mantar was built in 1724 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II as an astronomical observatory to study celestial activities using huge stone instruments. (AFP)
For generations, Indians used to come to Delhi if they wanted to get their say from the government.
The capital has long been the country’s political pressure valve, where everyone from freedom fighters and farmers to students, pensioners, anti-corruption activists and Olympic medalists have gathered to demand accountability. But while Delhi remains the destination, the geography of dissent has steadily changed.
There was a time when protests used to take place on the spacious lawns of the Boat Club, right in front of the corridors of power on Rajpath (now Dutva Path). Today, most demonstrations are confined to a narrow area outside the 18th-century astronomical observatory at Jantar Mantar, a site that never had a political purpose.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s month-long protests and the recent resurgence of Jantar Mantar with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) movement have once again attracted crowds, reviving an old question: How did Delhi’s major protest site move from the Boat Club to Jantar Mantar?
When the streets of Delhi became India’s political stage
Delhi’s association with political opposition dates back to before independence.
An article in The Times of India recalls how protests against the Rowlatt Act in 1919, protests over the INA trials at the Red Fort in 1945, Jayaprakash Narayan’s call for “total revolution” from Ramlila Maidan in 1975, Mandal Commission protests and later Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement turned various parts of the capital into symbols of resistance.
Boat Club: OG Protest Square
Before the 1990s, there was no place near India Gate more politically important than the Boat Club Lawn.
The site, spread over Rajpath between India Gate and Vijay Chowk, provided what every protest movement wanted: visibility. Protesters gathered in front of Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan and the country’s most important ministries. Television cameras provided unobstructed views, and governments could not easily ignore the huge crowds gathered in the center of Lutyens’ Delhi.
Before the 1990s, almost every major national movement was attracted to the Boat Club because of its proximity to power.
The rally that changed everything
The turning point came in October 1988.
More than five lakh farmers, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, occupied the Boat Club Lawns and Rajpath for almost a week demanding relief from high sugarcane prices and electricity and water charges.
Central Delhi was completely disrupted due to the demonstration.
The sheer scale of the mobilization convinced officials that such gatherings near Parliament and Rashtrapati Bhavan were posing increasing administrative and security challenges. The protests fundamentally changed how governments viewed demonstrations in the capital.
1993: State steps up dissent
A decisive change came five years later.
In 1993, authorities banned large public rallies at the Boat Club, citing security concerns and the difficulty in managing large gatherings so close to Parliament, North Block, South Block and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
But the Boat Club’s closure wasn’t just about crowd control; It reflects a broader effort to create greater distance between mass protests and the seat of executive power.
The designated protest site then became Jantar Mantar Road. The new site was centrally located and easily accessible, yet it was much easier for the police to regulate than the vast lawns of Rajpath.
Retired IAS officer Ramesh Negi told The New Indian Express that choosing Jantar Mantar was a “pragmatic decision”. “This place is in the middle of the city… it has high visibility; it is convenient for transportation and even for the authorities to keep a vigil.”
An observatory became India’s protest address
Jantar Mantar was built in 1724 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II as an astronomical observatory to study celestial activities using huge stone instruments.
It was never intended to host political demonstrations. But its transformation into India’s most recognized protest site was entirely the result of administrative decisions made centuries later.
Over time, the observatory acquired a completely different identity. Its huge sundial became the backdrop for hunger strikes, dharnas, candlelight processions and demonstrations by groups that were too small for the Ramlila Maidan but were determined to remain visible.
Anna Hazare made Jantar Mantar a national symbol
Although protests shifted there in the 1990s, 2011 changed Jantar Mantar forever.
Social activist Anna Hazare began his fast demanding the Jan Lokpal Bill, making the site the epicenter of India’s anti-corruption movement.
This movement changed the way Indians looked at Jantar Mantar. It was no longer simply a designated protest site, but became “a physical embodiment of citizens seeking accountability”.
The years that followed saw protests over the Nirbhaya case, pension reforms, environmental issues, student movements and several civil society campaigns.
Why was Ramlila Maidan never taken in place of Jantar Mantar?
Jantar Mantar and Ramlila Maidan often serve different purposes.
While Jantar Mantar became the venue of choice for frequent dharnas, hunger strikes and issue-based protests, Ramlila Maidan remained the site of large-scale political mobilization. Large movements requiring thousands of participants were generally shifted there as the venue could accommodate the crowd which Jantar Mantar could not easily.
Even Jantar Mantar was not permanent
In October 2017, Delhi’s protest geography changed again.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered a complete halt to the protests at Jantar Mantar after residents complained about noise, cleanliness and disruption. The protesters were directed to shift to Ramlila Maidan.
For nearly nine months, one of India’s most recognizable protest sites remained silent. This changed in July 2018, when the Supreme Court lifted the blanket ban. The court said democracy and dissent are inseparable, and authorities can control protests but cannot completely eliminate them. It directed the government to formulate guidelines balancing citizens’ right to protest with the concerns of residents.
Fresh questions on wrestlers’ protest
Jantar Mantar again came into the national spotlight in 2023, when Olympic medalists Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia staged a prolonged sit-in against then Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment.
On 28 May, the day the new Parliament building was inaugurated, the protests ended dramatically, when Delhi Police removed tents and detained protesters attempting to march towards Parliament.
From open lawns to narrow streets
The development from Boat Club to Jantar Mantar represents more than a change of site. The story tells the story of how the Indian state has gradually tried to balance two competing objectives: protecting the democratic right to protest while securing the country’s most sensitive administrative sector.
Each move has pushed the protests a little further away from Parliament. From the vast openness of the Boat Club to the limited expanse of Jantar Mantar – and, at times, the Ramlila Maidan – the geography of dissent has steadily shrunk.
Yet, as every generation has shown, change in location never ends conflict. It has merely changed the address where democracy gathers to express its views.
Future protests in Delhi could be adapted using creative expression and social media, as seen in the recent demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. Protesters have used art, satire and online platforms to deliver the message.
About the author
Apoorva Mishra is a News Editor at News18.com and has a keen interest in politics and current affairs. She loves uncovering new angles and telling stories through long-form features and explainers. Follow…read more
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