NAPM statement on Police violence on peaceful protestors: Democracy Cannot Be Beaten into Submission
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National
Alliance of People’s Movements
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Democracy Cannot Be Beaten into Submission
NAPM Condemns the Brutal Assault on Peaceful Students and Youth at Jantar Mantar; Demands Accountability and Democratic Dialogue
July 23, 2026: The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) unequivocally condemns the brutal and unprovoked police violence unleashed on thousands of peaceful students, youth, concerned parents and citizens who had gathered at Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas in New Delhi on 20 July to exercise their constitutional right to peaceful assembly and protest.
What unfolded in the heart of the national capital was not merely an instance of excessive policing it was a grave assault on democracy itself. Instead of listening to the voices of young people demanding accountability, the Government chose repression over dialogue and police batons over constitutional values.
For nearly a month, thousands of students and young people had been peacefully protesting, demanding accountability for the deepening crisis in India's education and public examination system. Repeated examination paper leaks, irregularities in recruitment processes, cancellation of competitive examinations, delays in appointments, failures of the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the continuing erosion of public confidence in the education system have pushed millions of students into prolonged uncertainty. Behind every cancelled examination and every leaked paper lie years of hard work, emotional investment, financial sacrifice and shattered aspirations.
Beyond paper leaks, a deeper crisis and complete apathy
The present movement also reflects a much deeper crisis. The growing privatisation and commercialisation of education, the neglect and closure of government schools, shrinking public investment in education, and increasing exclusion of poorer and marginalised students have collectively undermined the constitutional promise of equal educational opportunity. The demand for accountability, including the demand that the Union Education Minister accept responsibility and resign for these repeated institutional failures, is entirely legitimate in a democratic society.
Yet, instead of engaging with these concerns, the Government chose silence. For almost a month, despite repeated appeals from students, parents, civil society organisations and opposition leaders, no meaningful dialogue was initiated. Even prolonged hunger strikes by Sonam Wangchuk and student activists including Neha Bora, Danish, Amin and others, who risked their health and lives for more than twenty days, failed to move the Government. Rather than responding to their legitimate concerns, the authorities remained indifferent until the fast was finally withdrawn following appeals from civil society and opposition leaders.
It was against this backdrop that an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people assembled on the opening day of Parliament and attempted to march peacefully towards Parliament to make their voices heard. Parliament derives its legitimacy from the people. Citizens marching peacefully towards Parliament to seek accountability cannot be treated as enemies of the State.
Instead, the Delhi Police responded with extraordinary and disproportionate force. Eyewitness accounts and numerous videos in the public domain indicate the indiscriminate use of tear gas, rubber bullets and brutal lathi charges against unarmed protesters, including women and young students. Many suffered serious injuries and several continue to receive treatment in hospitals.
Brutal repression, shrinking spaces for dissent and need for accountability
Equally disturbing are the serious allegations emerging from participants and eyewitnesses regarding the nature of the force used, including the reported presence of unidentified plain-clothes personnel participating in the assault and allegations regarding the use of modified batons causing severe injuries. These allegations warrant an immediate, independent and transparent judicial inquiry.
Since the Delhi Police functions under the direct administrative control of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India cannot evade responsibility for what transpired on 20 July. The Union Home Ministry must be held politically accountable for the brutal repression unleashed on peaceful protesters. The repeated use of police violence against democratic movements reflects an alarming pattern that cannot be dismissed as an operational failure of the police alone.
The events of 20 July are not an isolated incident. Across the country, farmers, workers, women, Adivasis, Dalits, minorities, environmental defenders, students and human rights activists increasingly encounter barricades, surveillance, arbitrary detention, criminal prosecution and police violence instead of democratic engagement. Peaceful dissent is steadily being transformed into a law-and-order issue, while constitutional rights are increasingly treated as privileges to be withdrawn at the discretion of the State. The assault at Jantar Mantar must therefore be understood as part of a wider assault on democratic freedoms and constitutional values.
Equally disturbing is the attempt already underway in sections of the government and the corporate media to portray peaceful protesters as violent while diverting attention from the brutality inflicted upon them. We are deeply concerned that, instead of investigating the unlawful police action, the authorities may now attempt to criminalise the movement itself by filing fabricated cases, selectively targeting student leaders and constructing conspiracy narratives, as has become an increasingly familiar pattern in recent years. Such retaliatory action would constitute yet another grave attack on democratic rights.
The Constitution of India guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and democratic protest under Article 19. These rights are not concessions granted by the State; they are fundamental constitutional guarantees. Holding governments and ministers accountable for institutional failures is neither unlawful nor anti-national. It is the very essence of democracy. The appropriate response to criticism is transparency, dialogue and institutional reform, not police violence.
NAPM Demands:
An immediate, independent and time-bound judicial inquiry into the police violence against peaceful protesters on 20 July, including the use of excessive force and all allegations of misconduct.
Immediate accountability of all officials, including those in the Delhi Police and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, responsible for ordering and carrying out the brutal assault.
Withdrawal of all false and politically motivated cases, if any, against students, youth and peaceful protesters, and an assurance that no retaliatory action will be initiated against participants in the movement.
Immediate medical assistance and adequate compensation for all those injured during the police action.
An independent judicial inquiry into the repeated failures of the National Testing Agency and the larger public examination and recruitment system, including paper leaks, cancellations and institutional irregularities.
Time-bound structural reforms to ensure transparency, fairness, accountability and integrity in all public examinations and recruitment processes.
Political accountability at the highest level, including the resignation of the Union Education Minister for repeated institutional failures that have jeopardised the future of millions of students.
Immediate and meaningful dialogue between the Government and representatives of the student movement to address their legitimate concerns.
An end to the criminalisation of democratic dissent and full protection of every citizen's constitutional right to peaceful protest.
Today, it is students demanding justice. Tomorrow, it may be workers demanding fair wages, farmers demanding remunerative prices, women demanding safety, or communities resisting displacement. Every attack on peaceful democratic protest weakens the foundations of our Republic.
NAPM stands in complete solidarity with the students, youth and all citizens who have courageously participated in this movement. We reaffirm that the future of India's democracy depends not on suppressing dissent but on listening to it.
Repression cannot substitute dialogue. Batons cannot silence truth. Democracy belongs to the people, and the people's voice cannot be beaten into submission.
In solidarity,
National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)