Srinagar, June 22 -- For decades, Jantar Mantar occupied a special place in India's democratic imagination. It was where voices from distant corners of the country converged to seek justice, recognition, and change. A protest at Jantar Mantar carried significance. It signalled that an issue had travelled all the way to the nation's capital and demanded attention from those in power.

But times have changed.

Today, the country's most famous protest site increasingly resembles a political ritual rather than a political instrument. Leaders arrive with supporters, slogans, banners, and cameras. Speeches are delivered. Memoranda are submitted. Social media posts are uploaded. News channels carry a few sound bites. Then everyone returns home....