“World’s Largest Democracy”
Footage from the student protests of 20 July 2026. Last updated 21 July 2026.
The protests began at Jantar Mantar on 6 June 2026, led by the Cockroach Janta Party — a satirical youth movement founded by Abhijeet Dipke — alongside student organisations. The demand was the education minister’s resignation, over the repeated leaking of the NEET medical entrance paper and the student suicides that followed. Most of those taking part were between 16 and 20 years old. The environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike on 28 June and was forcibly hospitalised on 18 July.
On 20 July more than thirty thousand people marched toward Parliament in the “Sansad Chalo” protest. This page collects video of how that march was policed. Every item links to its original source and carries a status saying how well corroborated it is.
How to read the status labels
- Confirmed
- Matches mainstream reporting, or several independent recordings of the same event agree.
- Video evidence, unconfirmed source
- The footage is real and you can see what is in it, but the specific claim about what is happening rests on a single account and has not been corroborated.
- Disputed — needs more evidence
- The claim is contested, or it accuses someone of fabrication. Treat with caution and read the source before repeating it.
A label of anything other than “Confirmed” does not mean the event did not happen. It means we are not yet in a position to assert it as fact, and we would rather say so.
Mainstream coverage of the same day
This archive is not the only record. These outlets reported on the march independently, and they are what several items below are checked against.
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2026 Delhi Jantar Mantar protests
Background on the movement, the timeline, and the events of 20 July. States that security forces “used tear gas and lathi charge against the protesters”, and records protester reports of beatings, detentions in buses and electrified barricades, with 65 medico-legal cases logged by evening.
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CJP founder detained, tear gas used against protesters
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Live coverage of the Parliament march
Delhi Police stated that 118 of their personnel were injured. That account is recorded here deliberately. An archive that only carries one side of a disputed day is easier to dismiss than one that does not.
Force used against protesters
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Confirmed
Tear gas used to disperse crowds
Play video
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Confirmed
Tear gas thrown at people who were sitting down
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Confirmed
Further tear gas against protesters
Play video
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Confirmed
Peaceful protesters beaten
Play video
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Firearm pointed toward a group of young protesters
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Large group of policemen beating one boy
Detention of protesters in buses that day is recorded in mainstream coverage — see coverage. This specific incident, and the number of officers involved, rests on the source alone.
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Further instance of police violence
Play video
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Protesters with head wounds
Two separate clips show men bleeding from head injuries, one being treated at a barricade during rain. How the injuries were caused is not visible in either clip.
Play video
Play second clip
Original posting not yet traced. Mirrored on the Internet Archive above.
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
A protester pinned to the ground by several officers
Play video
Original posting not yet traced. Mirrored on the Internet Archive above.
Violence against minors
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Confirmed
A young protester slapped and struck with a baton
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Confirmed
A young protester choked
Violence against women
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Confirmed
Police beating women protesters
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Confirmed
Protesters reported to have been given electric shocks during heavy rain
Independently supported: the use of electrified barricades that day is recorded in mainstream coverage of the march. See coverage.
Play video
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Officer striking a woman protester, described by the source as a blow to the genitals
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Officers described by the source as groping women and laughing
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
A young woman’s clothing torn, described by the source as done by police
Published with the consent of the person filmed.
Play video
Original posting not yet traced. Mirrored on the Internet Archive above.
Identification and accountability
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Confirmed
Officers on duty without name tags
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Nails reported to be set into police batons
Play video
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Men in plain clothes acting alongside police
Described by the source as “private police”. Their identity and authority have not been established.
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Disputed — needs more evidence
Police damaging their own vehicles
The source presents this as staged, to make protesters appear violent. That is an allegation about intent and cannot be established from the footage alone.
Press and medical care
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Confirmed
Reporters detained
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Doctors reported beaten while treating the injured
Communications and access
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Buses not halting at the designated stop near the protest
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Video evidence, unconfirmed source
Footage removed after posting
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Disputed — needs more evidence
Allegation of signal jamming during a parliamentary session
Raised by Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury, who said members were kept inside. Reported as an allegation.
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Disputed — needs more evidence
Accounts reporting reduced reach after posting about the protest
Reduced reach is very hard to demonstrate from outside a platform.
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Disputed — needs more evidence
Claim that news channels circulated AI-generated footage
This accuses named broadcasters of fabrication. It is a serious allegation and it is not established here.
Awaiting sources
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Courts declining relief to petitioners
No source recorded yet. Not published until one is attached.
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Officer alleged to have repeatedly assaulted women
No source recorded yet. Not published until one is attached.