New Delhi, July 25 -- Twenty-seven-year-old Palak Anand, who runs the jewellery label Aura Studio in Delhi, recently visited the student protest site at Jantar Mantar. She came away struck by the sheer number of people, after spending hours in the heat, were looking for water, ORS and something quick to eat. She put out a call for support in kind on social media and was overwhelmed with deliveries of snacks, water bottles, electrolytes and more at her home. Anand shared photographs of an Uber XL on Instagram, which she and her friends filled to the brim before heading to Jantar Mantar.

The protests in Delhi are centred on demands for accountability over examination paper leaks and wider reforms in the education system. As students and su...