Reservation Hatao Andolan: Delhi Police detain protesters at Jantar Mantar over lack of permission

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 22, 2026: Delhi Police detained several protesters at Jantar Mantar on Friday after hundreds gathered for the ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, demanding an end to caste-based reservation and its replacement with an economic criteria-based system of affirmative action.

Police officials said no permission had been granted for any protest, procession, demonstration or assembly at Jantar Mantar. However, a no-objection certificate (NOC) had been issued for a peaceful protest at Ramlila Ground.

The demonstration was organised under the banner of Reservation Hatao Andolan (RHA), which began as an Instagram page. Protesters demanded that reservations in public education and employment be based solely on economic status and called for a “one family, one reservation” policy.

They also sought the withdrawal of the University Grants Commission’s 2026 caste-equity rules and a review of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force were deployed in large numbers around Jantar Mantar. Barricades were put up and personnel checked people approaching the area. Some protesters who gathered in the morning were subsequently removed from the site.

Protesters also alleged that internet jammers had been installed in the area, though the claim could not be independently verified.

Most of the participants were men and carried banners, posters and saffron flags while raising slogans. A protester associated with the Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha said government support for education and coaching should be determined by economic condition rather than caste.

Another participant argued that the existing reservation system does not always benefit the most disadvantaged sections and called for a creamy-layer criterion to be applied across categories.

The RHA Instagram page was started by student Harsh Dubey during an earlier student agitation. He later transferred its control to anti-reservation activists Anuradha Tiwari, Ajeet Bharti and Neha Das. In a post on X, the group said its protest was not funded by any political party or foreign agency and that participants were not paid to attend.

Protesters said that several decades after the introduction of the reservation policy, social and economic conditions had changed significantly and that the system needed a broader review based on economic need rather than caste identity.