‘I just did the Bombay thing’: Woman’s 40-minute standoff with a police van in Mumbai

“I didn’t think of anything in that moment, I just jumped in front of the van. I just knew that I had to make my voice heard and use my body to let the police know this was not right. So, I just did the Bombay thing, stood in front of the van and held my arm out, and told them to stop.”

Before stepping in front of the vehicle, Ahir tried reasoning with the police. She asked why the protesters were being taken away, whether there was a warrant, and even tried pulling one detainee out through the van door as it crawled forward.

Nothing worked. Realising she was running out of road, she decided to become the obstacle instead.

She admits she was scared. “If they run over, God help them. But even if they do, I would rather be a martyr than a helpless citizen,” she remembers thinking.

What followed was a 40-minute standoff in the rain. As the van remained stationary, a crowd gathered behind her, chanting, “Jab jab Modi darta hai, police ko aage karta hai.” A handful of protesters joined her in blocking the vehicle. Many others watched, phones in hand. “I stood my ground, and the police stood theirs,” she said.

In the end, it wasn’t either side that broke the deadlock. It was Mumbai traffic.

Ahir had realised that if the police van remained stranded on one of Dadar’s busiest roads, traffic would quickly pile up, leaving the police with two choices.”They would either have to go over me, or let the detainees go,” she said. The detainees were released.

For Ahir, Wednesday was also her first protest. She isn’t directly affected by the NEET paper leak that sparked demonstrations across the country. She is, however, fighting her own battle with Mumbai University over a distance learning course in English Literature. But she says she wasn’t there for a single issue.

“We are fighting for everyone’s rights here. From you to me, to my 9 year old little brother, my parents, the farmers, the Dalits, Adivasis, the environment, for our kids, everyone. All of us have been failed by the system in some way. We are stronger united, so now is the time to
come together for this fight. And in this fight for our rights, the police are detaining everyone left, right, and centre without any just cause. The protests have been nothing but peaceful on the students’ side.”

“If I had walked past that police van, I would have failed.”

As the image spread online, Ahir also found herself accused by some of chasing attention. She doesn’t dispute that. “I am doing this for attention: for the government’s attention, to call attention to everything wrong in our system.” The internet has since christened her the “patriot baddie”. Ahir laughs at the label and says the instinct to stand her ground comes from home.

Her father served in the armed forces. “My dad was so proud. He joked that I shouldn’t push the van too hard, or the bonnet might break.”