Something really serious happened on July 20 in New Delhi and veteran actor Shabana Azmi was right there in middle of it all . The protest organized by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was demanding resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and what Azmi witnessed there honestly left her shaken.
Azmi has always spoken up on social justice issues for long time now . So her presence at this demonstration was not surprising . But what she described seeing with her own eyes — that was deeply disturbing .
According to her account,police used lathis and tear gas directly on protesting students . Some of these students were as young as 15 years old . And despite all that aggression being thrown at them,Azmi noted these young people were committed to completely non-violent approach .
During her interview with India Today,Azmi was clearly outraged at how authorities tried to frame whole situation . She stated directly,"They tried to put the blame on the students and said somebody threw a shoe and that's how they started,but that's not what I saw… They were showing me their wounds and they were saying they wanted to do a completely non-violent protest."
And honestly,that image of students showing their wounds while still insisting on peaceful protest — that says everything.
Three things clearly standing out from this entire situation:
- Azmi witnessed police using lathis and tear gas on students,some as young as 15.
- Students demanded more than Pradhan's resignation,seeking broader systemic changes to education .
- Azmi criticized complete lack of communication and dialogue between government officials and protesting youth .
She also raised serious alarm about what might come next . Reports she had heard suggested paramilitary forces could be deployed if protests continued . Her response to that was direct question — "Is this any way of behaving?" And honestly,it is not small thing to ask.
What makes whole situation feel even more frustrating is that Azmi and her husband Javed Akhtar had already tried to handle this quietly . On July 15,both of them reached out personally to the Prime Minister urging him to start dialogue with students . Their appeal was clear — "We are appealing to you as concerned citizens and as former members of Rajya Sabha… please initiate a dialogue with them."
Four days passed . No response came.
After that silence,Azmi felt she had no choice but to show up publicly in support . She was careful to explain her reason — "Our intention was not to draw attention to ourselves; we have to draw attention to these young students who've come forward with so much courage."
She also used social media to share videos and images from protest,showing her solidarity openly . And beyond immediate situation,Azmi made larger demand — that India must "allocate 6 percent of GDP to education,public health and women's empowerment to measure the success of our country."
So right now the students are still waiting . Government hasn't engaged in any meaningful dialogue as far as public knows . And question that keeps hanging unanswered is — at what point does democracy sit down and actually listen to its youngest citizens instead of sending police with lathis…
