protests - Question of Cities

People vs people: How to read protests and fissures

Protests have been happening but all protests are not equal; some seem more legitimate, have more impact, than others. Which people are allowed to raise their voice, whose voices are heard, which protesters influence policies are determined by the prevailing…

How India’s cities are making protests invisible

Across Indian cities, protests are being confined to designated sites with strict rules, making them easy to be ignored and disengaging protesters from the public as well as governments. In Delhi, Jantar Mantar is now the designated protest site –…

Why must trans people prove themselves to the
city, every day?

Despite the nation-wide protests against the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, it became the law. But protesters were also taking on public perception and prejudices about their identity. The law has intensified the oppressive conditions that trans…

Mumbai protests for ecology intensify but disconnected

Across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, people’s protests to protect mangroves, wetlands, forests, and other fragile ecosystems have multiplied as infrastructure projects gather momentum. Despite sustained efforts through demonstrations, legal action, and digital campaigns, authorities have largely gone ahead with projects,…

Halla bol: Why protests are intrinsic to city-making

Resistance and protests are increasingly framed as undesirable, even anti-national. Yet, they have always defined the character of cities. Protests seem to be thinning out in cities across India but it may have more to do with how the governments,…

Mumbai-Thane on ecology
protection march

Across Mumbai and Thane, individuals and groups have been coming together to resist ecological damage by the authorities in the name of development. Undeterred by governments and the courts, they have been fighting in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai against projects…

They fight so that the Aravallis can stand tall

Sheer passion, deep commitment to their land, and raw anger at the daylight robbery of the hills they have called home forever have driven scores of people to gather in small and large numbers across the Aravalli hills and range…

Saving the Aravallis with songs, poems and art

People, including professional artists, have been using every medium at their disposal to draw attention to the Aravallis. While locals across Rajasthan and Haryana have taken to songs, poems, and art works to protect their beloved hills, activists in Delhi,…