Azad Maidan: The popular protest ground since British rule gets ready for govt swearing-in

A stone’s throw away from budding cricketers honing their skills, the south-eastern pocket of Azad Maidan continues to thrive as a space for protesters to voice their dissent — Mumbai’s equivalent of Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. With permission from the Azad Maidan police station and the Mumbai special branch, anyone — either one or a hundred dissenters — can gather at the historic site to register their protest.

The making of a maidan

What today is known as ‘Azad Maidan’ once formed a part of the expansive Esplanade Maidan, which stretched from the Crawford Market in the north to beyond Cooperage in the southern end.

While Esplanade served as a crucial recreational space in the city, the demolition of the fort walls in the 1860s opened the wide maidan to new possibilities with the British devising a new plan for the area.

“Land released on the Esplanade was judiciously laid out in wide roads, open spaces and building lots including the west side DN Road and the sites along the western foreshore in front of the Oval maidan,” chronicles the book, Bombay: The Cities Within.

It was during this recalibration that the Esplanade was then subdivided into four distinct maidans — Cross, Oval, Cooperage and Azad.

While Azad Maidan had thrived until then as Esplanade Maidan out of which it was carved out, it was rechristened as ‘Azad Maidan’ after 1960 — a moniker it gained thanks to its integral role in the country’s long struggle for freedom.

A politically charged ground

Azad Maidan was home to some of the earliest political demonstrations of the freedom movement. It was on the grassy knolls of Azad Maidan that the British administration led by then police chief Charles Forjett tied two Indian soldiers to the mouth of a canon and blew them up in 1857 for a “plot” to stage an uprising against the British rulers.

“In the 1930s, almost every other day there would be a political demonstration held at the maidan. Congress volunteers would come and gather at the huge maidan, shout slogans, protest with flags and almost every other day, they would get lathi-charged with the police driving them out of the ground,” said Mumbai police historian Deepak Rao.

Among the well-known demonstrations with Azad Maidan as the epicentre was the protest triggered by Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest during the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.

Even after the country’s independence, the culture of protests and public gatherings continued into the latter decades with Azad Maidan becoming a bastion for people from all walks of life to express their dissent. Several observers feel that behind the success of Azad Maidan’s evolution as an iconic site over the past century lies its proximity to the BMC headquarters, Mantralaya, Vidhan Bhavan as well as the key railway stations of CSMT and Churchgate.

While largely peaceful protests at the ground have also taken a violent turn on several occasions such as the morchas led by Dr Datta Samant in the 1970s during which, police historian Rao said, heaviest police bandobast would be made at the ground.

Rao said, “Whenever there was a protest by textile labourers, labour movement or by political parties, the protesters would alight at the Churchgate or CSMT stations and enter the maidan. Earlier, the protesters would carry out marches down to Vidhan Bhavan by walking from the maidan up to Flora Fountain before reaching Kala Ghoda. From Kala Ghoda, a delegation would then be escorted by the police up to Vidhan Bhavan.”

Such was the force and fury of the morchas that they would frequently disrupt traffic alongside businesses in the city, nudging aggrieved citizens to approach the Bombay High Court, which in 1997 passed an order stating that all protests would be curtailed at Azad Maidan.

Even so, Azad Maidan’s shine has failed to dwindle.

Over the years, Azad Maidan has played host to huge protests such as the march of farmers from Nashik in 2018 to the agitation in 2021 when the controversial farm laws sparked widespread protests across the country. More recently, lakhs thronged Azad Maidan to attend the 32nd annual Sunni Ijtema between November 29 and December 1.

Gearing up for swearing-in

For now though, the protests have taken a back seat at the iconic ground amid the preparations for the oath-taking ceremony on December 5 going on in full swing. On Tuesday, Shiv Sena and NCP leaders joined a delegation led by state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule to inspect the venue.

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule joined by Shiv Sena and NCP leaders as he inspects the site of the swearing-in ceremony of the state’s new chief minister, at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

Between 15,000 and 20,000 people are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah besides senior Union Cabinet members. Invitations have been sent to over 20 CMs to attend the event.

“As per protocol, officials from foreign consulates will also be present,” an official said. Besides, spiritual leaders and beneficiaries of the state government’s flagship Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana will also be present.

(With inputs from Alok Deshpande)