At Jantar Mantar, wrestlers have some neighbours — defence veterans, railway job aspirants, satnamis

Right next to the wrestlers’ protest area, which has been barricaded from three sides, sit a group of 8-10 Armed forces veterans. (Express Photo by Neha Sasi)

Indian Air Force veteran N Mohanarangan Iyer (74), who served for 15 years and now heads the JCOs/Ors Veterans Association (JOVA), told The Indian Express, “I don’t expect politicians and bureaucrats to understand our problems, but our own people, who should have spoken up for us, were busy looking out for their own personal interests.”

A small chalkboard records May 18 as their 88th day of protest for reforms in the pension system for veterans as well as families of soldiers killed in action or who die during service. (Express Photo by Neha Sasi)

“Earlier, if anyone was killed in action, their families would get 100% of the pay of that particular rank. This means that even if he died after serving three years, his family would still get pay for 17 years of service. After OROP, if a soldier has served two years, his family will only get two years worth of salary, which is inadequate,” he said.

Asked how long they planned to protest, the answer is unanimous: however long it takes. (Express Photo by Neha Sasi)

Iyer added, “If an individual dies during service due to an accident or illness, his family would get 60% of emoluments of the particular rank. If someone was getting Rs 28,000 earlier, they will get a much lesser amount than that now. How is this fair?”

Asked how long they planned to protest, the answer is unanimous: however long it takes. “We will only leave after we get a chance to talk to either the Prime Minister or Defence Minister,” said Kailash Chankaushik (75), a Navy veteran from Uttar Pradesh.

On the other side of the road, the Guru Ghasidas Sevadar Sangh (GSS) from Chhattisgarh were on a day-long protest to demand recognition of a separate ‘Satnami’ religion, protection of their history, and a law demanding their community’s control over religious places associated with ‘Satnam dharma’.

Lakhan Subodh, a prominent leader from the community, said Guru Ghasidas, a social reformist from Chhattisgarh in the 19th Century, established his own religion called Satnami with an aim to eradicate caste and all kinds of oppression. (Express Photo by Neha Sasi)

Lakhan Subodh, a prominent leader from the community, said Guru Ghasidas, a social reformist from Chhattisgarh in the 19th Century, established his own religion called Satnami with an aim to eradicate caste and all kinds of oppression. “However, our religion was never recognised by mainstream Hindus and we were forcibly registered as caste Hindus,” he said.

Subodh added that Satnamis are not only restricted to Chhattisgarh, but also live in Assam, Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra. He also said no political party in Chhattisgarh has ever included Satnami rights and welfare in their manifestos.

Subodh said that Satnamis are not only restricted to Chhattisgarh, but also live in Assam, Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra. (Express Photo by Neha Sasi)

A few steps away from the Satnami protest, and across the road from the wrestlers, are young Railways aspirants from across India who said they have been cheated out of employment by the government.

Mobilising through social media (specifically, WhatsApp and Telegram groups), these young men said they qualified the Group D exam of the Railways, and cleared the requisite medical and physical tests, but were informed later that there are no available vacancies.

These young men said they qualified the Group D exam of the Railways, and cleared the requisite medical and physical tests, but were informed later that there are no available vacancies. (Express Photo by Arushi Bhaskar)

“The notification for the vacancies was issued in 2019, and the exam was held in 2022,” said Rahul Kumar Meena, an aspirant from Uttar Pradesh. “We cleared posts related to medical standards B2 and C1. They then revised the posts — nearly 1,400 posts from our category were converted into posts in the upper A2 and B1 categories. We have been shunted out, which is why we are protesting,” he added.

We went to the Railway Ministry to try and talk to the Minister, but they kept stalling us, said an aspirant from Uttar Pradesh. (Express Photo by Arushi Bhaskar)

He further said, “We went to the Railway Ministry to try and talk to the Minister, but they kept stalling us. We then went to the PMO and Home Ministry; they sent us back to the Railways, who said that they don’t have an answer. They say that it’s impossible to meet the Minister.”

Tushar Dhiman, another aspirant from UP’s Muzaffarnagar, said the exam in 2022 was also conducted only after protests by candidates: “Now, we are all past the maximum upper limit age for giving these exams. They are simply refusing us our rights.”

“We have no support from anyone. We pooled in small amounts of money to make this journey to Delhi. We are unemployed, and our futures are being shrunk by these policies,” added Narayan Goswami from Jharkhand’s Dhanbad.