Slogans, songs, free food: How Chandigarh's Sector 17 became hub of student protest

A five-day protest over alleged paper leaks and police action in Delhi turned Chandigarh's Sector 17 Plaza into a shared public forum. The gathering drew students, families and activists who demanded transparency in exams and that young voices be heard.

In Short

• Protest grew from students to diverse public over five days
• Disagreements arose over flags; groups held separate demonstrations
• Protest remained peaceful, mixing slogans, art, silence, and solidarity

A six-year-old boy perched on his father’s shoulders, holding a protest poster, emerged as one of the most striking sights at Chandigarh’s Sector 17 Plaza during the five-day agitation against alleged paper leaks and the lathicharge on protesting students at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

Amrit, the youngest participant at the protest, attended the gathering with his father Amarjit, a young banker, who said he wanted his son to understand the meaning of expression and democratic rights.

“When something is not right, one should be able to raise their voice. I brought him here so that he could understand what a protest is and learn about his democratic rights,” Amarjit said.

For Amrit, it was his first protest. He looked curiously at the posters and slogans around him and asked questions about Bhagat Singh and the words written on the placards. His father said he explained the meaning behind the slogans and the reason people had gathered.

Amarjit said he also wanted to show his son what a real protest looked like beyond the images and narratives people usually encounter.

“We only see different narratives about protests. I wanted him to experience what an actual protest is like. Here, people have come together for one common cause, without looking at caste or religion,” he said.

Amrit’s presence reflected the changing character of the protest, which began as a student-led demonstration but gradually drew people from different walks of life.

What started as a gathering of students protesting alleged paper leaks and police action against demonstrators in Delhi transformed Sector 17 Plaza into a growing centre of public expression over five days. Student groups and social media largely mobilised the protest, but it soon attracted parents, senior citizens, lawyers, social workers, activists, political leaders, regional public figures and ordinary citizens.

The protest initially began with students from different schools and colleges arriving at the Plaza carrying posters and raising slogans such as “We Want Justice” and “Stop Paper Leaks”. The crowd grew from around 100 people in the early evening to nearly 300 as student organisations, including PSU (Lalkaar), Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS), SFS and others, joined the demonstration.

The participation of organised groups also created differences within the gathering. A section of students objected to NBS supporters carrying organisational flags, insisting that the protest should remain focused on the issue and that only the national flag should be displayed. The disagreement eventually led the groups to hold separate demonstrations and raise slogans independently.

Later, Congress leaders joined the gathering and participated in a candle march, with Punjab Congress president HS Lucky and other party leaders leading the procession.

The Congress demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, action against those responsible for the alleged lathicharge on protesters in Delhi, withdrawal of cases registered against students and a public apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country’s youth.

Student organisations, meanwhile, accused the Centre of failing to address unemployment, education and repeated paper leaks. They also alleged that the voices of young people were being suppressed. Speakers said students protesting in Delhi had faced lathicharge, tear gas and criminal cases while raising concerns over issues affecting their future.

As the protest continued, it adopted different forms of expression. Students tied black bands over their mouths and eyes as a symbolic expression of anger and observed a five-minute silence to question the state of the education system. Alongside posters, slogans and speeches, protesters recited poetry and shayari and sang Punjabi and Hindi songs.

Art also became part of the movement. A colourful chalk sketch welcoming protesters at Sector 17 Plaza became another expression of the agitation. The line, “The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting-stone of ideas,” featured prominently in the artwork, reflecting how protesters increasingly used creativity to communicate their message.

Despite its growing size, the protest remained peaceful. After four days of demonstrations, protesters marked the fifth day with a celebratory atmosphere. They presented flowers to Chandigarh Police personnel and raised slogans appreciating the force for maintaining restraint and not resorting to lathicharge or aggressive police action.

The demonstrations usually began around 5.30 pm and continued for two to three hours, bringing together people who otherwise might never have shared the same platform. Leaders and representatives from different social and political groups also united around the common cause of opposing paper leaks.

Public support became increasingly visible through gestures of solidarity. Sector 17 shopkeeper Ankush organised a free momo langar for the students. On another day, people distributed ice cream, biscuits, cold drinks and lassi among the protesters.

Varnika Kundu, daughter of a former IAS officer and a prominent figure associated with a widely discussed case involving Barala’s son, also visited the protest and extended her support. She said patriotic citizens had a responsibility to stand with young people and appealed to those who had not yet joined the agitation to come forward.

A retired principal who attended the protest said the issue extended beyond students and concerned the entire education system. The father of a serving Army personnel also joined the gathering and said the voices of young people must be heard.

By the fifth day, the protest had developed its own distinct visual language. One participant arrived wearing a Spider-Man mask, while another dyed his beard white as a symbolic gesture and distributed Melody toffees among fellow protesters.

For Amarjit, however, his six-year-old son’s presence carried a deeper message.

He questioned why schools and education were not being promoted adequately and why a generation often labelled as “careless” or “irresponsible” had instead taken to the streets to demand answers.

“The questions being raised here are important. Why is the government not promoting schools? Why is this so-called ‘laparvah’ generation on the streets? These are the questions that brought us here,” he said.

He also argued that the younger generation’s way of expressing itself should not automatically be viewed as aggression.

“Even when they use modern ways of expressing their demands or sometimes use strong language, it is often seen as aggression. But their concerns need to be heard,” he said.

Throughout the five-day movement, protesters maintained that repeated paper leaks had eroded the confidence of millions of young people preparing for competitive and recruitment examinations. They demanded transparency in the examination system, strict action against those responsible and accountability from the government.

By the end of the fifth day, what had begun as a student protest had evolved into a wider public movement where students, parents, senior citizens, activists and political representatives found common ground. Amid slogans, silence, songs, poetry, art and free food, Chandigarh’s Sector 17 Plaza emerged as a space where diverse sections of society came together to question the credibility of the examination system and demand that the concerns of the country’s youth be heard.

At the centre of it all stood six-year-old Amrit, on his father’s shoulders, holding a poster and asking questions about Bhagat Singh, a reminder, according to protesters, of what they were ultimately fighting for: the right of the next generation to dream, study and build a future they can trust.

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