Amid the sea of students and placards at Jantar Mantar, some of the youngest faces were children barely two years old, perched on their parents’ shoulders or walking while clutching their fingers.

For many parents, joining the protest was both an act of defiance and a demand for a better future for their children.

On Saturday evening, after news broke of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, Salman, 35, arrived at the protest site with his three children, the youngest a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

“We were following the movement but couldn’t come as we have three children. Today, when we heard he had resigned, we rushed here to celebrate,” Mr. Salman said, as a protester distributed “Melody” chocolates to the children.

He added that his eldest son had urged them to attend. “Paper leak nahi hona chahiye,” said Mohammad Saad, 11.

Similar scenes were witnessed on earlier days as well.

Around 11 p.m. on Friday, Kanchan, 34, a make-up artist from Karol Bagh, came with her three-year-old son, dressed as a doctor with a stethoscope around his neck.

“It is my second day here. We are here for the future of our children. We can tell them that students endured lathi-charge for them,” she said.

“We can also tell them that they were part of it. When people see small children here, they may also step out,” she added. “After July 20, we felt we should come. We felt very bad.”

Her neighbour, Monika Shersiya, 39, who joined after seeing them, came with her two-year-old son, Sam, dressed as Mahatma Gandhi.

“I came with my child so that what is happening to these students does not happen to him. The government does not seem to care even if people die,” she said.

She added that they had been at the site for four hours and her son was getting restless. “After seeing videos of students being beaten, including with lathis with nails, we had to come,” she said.

On Thursday, Sarfaraz Khan, 47, a tailor from Burari, came with his two-year-old son, Zorin, in his arms.

“We have supported the movement from the start, but this is our first time here. This is for the students who died and for the future of our children,” he said.

Mr. Khan, who studied up to Class IX, said that if he did not stand with the protesting students now, no one would stand with his children in the future.

Published - July 26, 2026 01:09 am IST