11 October,2026 09:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Arpika Bhosale
This is the first time independent India has seen such large-scale prohibitions on the railways in the face of protests. Pic/PTI
Ahead of the Jantar Mantar 2.0 protest on Saturday, the nation witnessed extraordinary prohibitions on trains entering the Capital, the kind India has not seen since Independence.
In the hours before one of the biggest face-offs we've seen between the state and its people in recent years, mail and express trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 am and 2 pm on Saturday were suspended, citing congestion in the Capital due to the impending protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Transport historian and mid-day City Editor Rajendra B Akelkar tells us that while section-based freezes of the railways is not unusual during the times of unrest, what is unprecedented is the scale of the clampdown this time. "Many observers have been saying that this is the first time since Independence that such government-enforced restrictions on trains have been put in force by the Indian Railways. Historical records and archives show that there have been protests, train restrictions, and such instances of âsecurity lockdowns' in the seven decades since Independence. What is unprecedented in post-Independence India, however, is the âperimeter freeze' at this national scale to avert a civil protest," he says.
One of the most notable past examples of stringent restrictions on the railways is during the Partition. "During the Partition, the railways were in flux, assets and infrastructure were being split [between the two separated nations], and new systems were being established. Systems were under stress and there were riots across various parts of the country. So, traffic had to be regulated and movement was curtailed to control the situation," says Aklekar.
The author of Halt Station India points out that the next big instance came when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi implemented the highly criticised Emergency. "The next major instance of a large-scale, national-level traffic restriction or limitation came during the Emergency, 1975 to 1977. That was the time when there were documented instances of railway restrictions," he says.
Bombay, as the city was known then, also saw heavy curbs on the railways to control unrest in the '80s and '90s. "In 1982, there were police riots in Bombay when the Maharashtra Police went on strike, and trains were diverted and curtailed. Next came the Sikh riots of 1984, when trains had to be regulated for security purposes, followed by the Bombay riots a decade later in 1992-93, when there were instances of trains being diverted, detained and cancelled," he adds.
Aklekar further points out that in the 21st century the Gurjar-Jat protests around 2011 and the Punjab farmers' protests in 2020 led to similar crackdowns.
"But the latest instance is the first government-enforced, national-scale perimeter freeze in modern times ahead of a planned civil protest," Aklekar finally adds.
Why does it matter? Because when it comes to movement of the masses, the railways is still the heaviest lifter of all. It was AISA president Neha Bora's transport mode of choice when she embarked on the Gen-Z Mahajutan Yatra across Uttar Pradesh to connect with the youth on students' issues. When railway services were suspended during the COVID-19 lockdown, we saw the mass migration of workers on foot - yet another unprecedented sight.
"The limitations of the public's access to the trains or mass transit systems during the protests is something we never thought would happen but that's what's happening now," says activist Samya Korde, adding that it is in line with restrictions seen during the last CJP protest too, when Korde was placed under house arrest. "Last time, I was one of the few who were detained at home. It is a reminder that protesting is our constitutional right and we must exercise it," she says. Korde was detained while on her way to August Kranti maidan and released by Saturday night.
DCP R Ragasudha, South Zone-2 confirmed that they have detained protesters as no permission were provided to conduct protests at August Kranti Maidan on Saturday.
With input by Aishwarya Iyer
All India Students' Federation (AISF) Mumbai President Aamir Kazi, who was at the Azad Maidan protest on Friday, says that not only has mobilising become harder with trains to Delhi being stopped, but even closer to home, activists are under extraordinary scrutiny. "With the trains out, of course mobilisation is difficult. I was even asked by a police officer if I was headed towards Delhi. To which I replied, âHow can I reach in time for the Delhi protest if I am in Mumbai on Friday and no trains are going there?'"
AISF has claimed that 14 of its members have been taken off Goa Express and detained at Itarsi. The police have told media personnel that the students were released on Friday but refused to leave the resort where they were detained. When this reporter last spoke to Kazi, he said he was taking shelter in a building surrounded by police personnel.
