Jantar Mantar: Is this the end for iconic Delhi protest site?

What is the point of a protest?

To raise your voice against injustice? To draw attention to a cause? Or to make those in power uncomfortable enough to listen?

For more than three decades, Indians have tried to do all three in a narrow, tree-lined road near Jantar Mantar, an 18th Century astronomical obervatory in Delhi.

But that may now be coming to an end.

This week, Delhi Police said Jantar Mantar, located close to parliament, would no longer be a designated protest site.

The decision comes months after the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) – not a political party but a collective which began as a joke – led a massive protest there demanding the resignation of federal education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Tens of thousands turned up and Pradhan subsequently resigned.

Police barricaded Jantar Mantar soon afterwards, preventing further demonstrations. Last week, an attempt by CJP supporters to march there, this time demanding the resignation of India’s election chief, ended in a police crackdown.

Protesters have now been directed to three other sites. Two are far from parliament, while the third, the sprawling Ramlila Ground, is often booked months in advance. Unlike Jantar Mantar, which is free, all three charge tens of thousands of rupees a day.

Delhi Police says, external it acted after the Supreme Court suggested identifying alternative sites with adequate infrastructure. But critics say the move could push protests beyond the reach of ordinary Indians, further from the seat of power and into venues many cannot afford.

Over the years, Jantar Mantar has witnessed everything from mass movements that shook governments to small, lonely demonstrations by people desperate to be heard. Farmers, students, grieving parents and ex-soldiers have gathered under its trees, holding placards and shouting slogans. Not every protest made headlines, but for many, it was a place to turn to when other doors had closed.

This week, when the BBC visited, those scenes seemed a distant memory.