Jantar Mantar denotified in its second busiest year since 2016 | Data

Students protest march against CEC Gyanesh Kumar near Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on Wednesday | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The Delhi Police’s move, on Monday, to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a designated venue for protests and demonstrations comes in the year when the site has witnessed perhaps the highest number of protests, at least since 2016. 

Located around two kilometres away from the country’s parliament, Jantar Mantar has become synonymous with public dissent in the national capital.

An analysis of data from Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) shows that Jantar Mantar has witnessed more than 600 events of demonstrations of varying scales in the last decade. Over 80 events of demonstration were reported in the site so far in 2026, the second-highest number of events recorded per year since 2016.

The data used for this analysis is restricted to verified events of peaceful protests, violent demonstrations, and protests with interventions, as published by ACLED. Event descriptions were analysed to restrict events of demonstrations in Jantar Mantar and include protest marches that either began or ended in Jantar Mantar. As per ACLED’s Codebook, a demonstration is a public assembly of three or more people for a shared cause, which turns violent when demonstrators engage in destructive actions. It does not imply the demonstrators initiated the violence. 

While the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests in June and October 2026, demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of Education, and Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, have gained a lot of attention this year, Jantar Mantar has been the hotbed for several other crucial protests.

An aerial view of the historic Jantar Mantar in the heart of the Delhi city. Its location, less than 3 km from Parliament, made Jantar Mantar a symbolic alternative to marches towards Parliament.

The Delhi Jantar Mantar, originally known as Yantra Mantra, was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur as an astronomical observatory at the behest of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.

Supporters of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare gather for a day-long fast at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on December 11, 2011, to protest the proposals of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Lokpal Bill.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists demonstrate at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 16, 2004, to protest the central government's decision to hike the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG.

Students clash with police during a protest march at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in 2014, demanding action against racism following attacks on people from Northeast India and the death of Arunachal Pradesh student Nido Tania.

Members of the Northeast community hold a candlelight vigil at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in 2014 to demand justice for Nido Tania, the student from Arunachal Pradesh whose death sparked widespread outrage against racism.