Politics

An ode to the fundamental right to protest

From Vietnam to Delhi, history shows that peaceful protest has long been met with state force. The events of 20 July 2026 raise urgent questions about democracy, policing, and the constitutional right to dissent. When fear replaces dialogue, the streets become the last refuge for citizens demanding accountability and justice.

Asijit Datta
15 min read
An ode to the fundamental right to protest

On October 21 1967, Marc Riboud photographed a 17-year-old American high-school student Jan Rose Kasmir (strange how it resonates with Kashmir!) planting a flower into a bayonet. Students were marching the streets to protest against the Vietnam War. The Warsaw pact invasion witnessed young Czechoslovakians offering bouquets to confused soldiers sitting atop Soviet tanks. After the near-bloodless coup that overthrew the Estado Novo regime in Portugal, citizens placed red carnations into soldier...

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Asijit Datta
Asijit Datta
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Does your beauty parlour make you feel beautiful or inadequate?

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