How protests have shaped India: From anti-Hindi agitation to farm laws

Activists challenging India’s government over electoral roll controversies have a long legacy of protest to draw on. Save Share New Delhi, India –Central parts of the Indian capital have been flooded in recent days with thousands of armed personnel, chasing down young protesters demanding the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner (CEC) and struggling to secure a place to stage a sit-in in New Delhi. Since last week, several student organisations and a wide spectrum of opposition parties have been engaged in a tactical tug-of-war, with tens of thousands turning up on Monday, far outnumbering police personnel. Protesters are demanding sweeping reforms and the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar after revelations of election irregularities. The agitation marks the latest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s grip on power, after his education minister was forced out by the same group of demonstrators less than three months ago. The Modi government has tried to portray protesters as representing antinational interests, working to slow down India’s growth or even to enable its breakup. But India, the world’s most populous country, has had a long history of street protests, from its freedom struggle against the British Empire to waves of movements during the 79 years of the Indian republic that have shaped its modern identity. “Time and again the government [of the day] has opposed these protests, [and] at times engaged with them critically,” Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst in New Delhi and former journalist, told Al Jazeera. “But protests have run centrally through India’s story all along.” Here is a look at major street protests in India and how they often forced powerful governments and leaders to yield. India’s newly-formed constitution envisaged Hindi replacing English as the central government’s official language after a 15-year transition, ending on January 26, 1965. Many people in southern India, particularly Tamil speakers in the then Madras state (now Tamil Nadu), feared that this would sideline them in government employment, civil service examinations and dealings with the central administration. For the federal government of a vast and diverse country, the idea of one common official language of communication was attractive as a tool of unification....