New Delhi: A day after the INDIA bloc’s massive protest march in Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah targeted Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of pursuing an “action plan to protect infiltrators” and asserting that the people of India would not be taken in by it.But the hundreds of thousands of Indians who came out on Barakhamba Road on Monday (October 12) had clearly missed the memo.In his article, The Street Has Spoken: INDIA Bloc Protest Against SIR Goes Massive, veteran journalist Sanjay K. Jha perfectly described the October 12 march to the Supreme Court:“This wasn’t a crowd drawn through allurements or coercion. This wasn’t a crowd fooled by false promises and religious passion. They were animated by their love of democracy; they came on their own because their most fundamental right – to vote – was in peril.” Expecting to see primarily Congress karyakartas on the street, (since this was a call given by Rahul Gandhi) I was pleasantly surprised to meet a large number of ordinary citizens who had taken time off from work on a Monday afternoon to register their protest against the Election Commission’s shenanigans.‘It’s not a small thing to have the right to vote’Kunal, a first year Delhi university student told me he was not affiliated to any political party:“It is not a small thing to be 18 or above and have the right to vote. As a citizen and a young person of this country I have every right to know if my vote is being tampered with or stolen. I could have stayed home but I am here because I am concerned about my democratic rights. I just want to say to everyone – don’t come here for any political party or leader. Come here for yourself and your vote!”A protester at the October 12, 2026 protest in Delhi. Photo: Rohit KumarA lady who works with cancer survivors, similarly, told me, “We are proud of the fact that we are the world’s largest democracy but if our vote, the basis of our democracy, is being tampered with, then what do we have left to be proud of as a democracy? We are simply asking for transparency. Let the facts come to light. If not, what kind of country are we leaving our children?”Her son, standing next to her pointed into my phone camera and said, “If you are not here supporting this protest and asking for answers, then you don’t really love your country.”‘Mogambo khush hua’Tariq, an advocate, held up a sign with a picture of Modi and the words, ‘Mogambo khush hua’. When I asked him to explain, he did a convincing imitation of Amrish Puri – the actor who played the iconic role of the villain Mogambo in the Bollywood movie, Mr. India– and growled “Mogambo khush hua”!I asked him what the plan to stop ‘Mogambo’ was. Without hesitation he said “Our robot, Rahul Gandhi, will defeat him”, possibly referring to the character of ‘Calendar’ (played by Satish Kaushik) in the movie who wears a robot suit and fights Mogambo’s men.He then extended the metaphor a bit. “Our ‘robot’, however, is not remote controlled like our prime minister. He is instead powered by the energy of the people of India.”Anshul, an MBA from IIM, Kolkata, said, “I work in Gurgaon but I have taken the day off to come here today. There are so many allegations against the Election Commission and so many public institutions have been hijacked! No one seems to respect the law anymore, and it’s hard to know what to do in this situation! And so I decided the the least I can do is mark my presence here. and that’s what I am doing.”“Tomorrow I will go back to work and do my usual job but the least we can do is come and participate and not be scared. Yesterday, so many people were scared by the detentions and police brutality, but today so many people have come out.”He added with a laugh, “This feels much safer and better!”Where were the government’s goons on October 12?Anshul was quite right. The events of October 2, 10, 11 and 12 have had a scarring effect on those who were present in central Delhi and elsewhere on those days. As someone who covered the protests and the police violence on those days, I have been finding it hard to sleep without images of security personnel beating up young people coming to mind. I shudder to think how much more traumatised those who were actually beaten up, dragged and detained must be feeling.I feel grateful for good samaritans like YouTuber Meghnad S. who, along with his team has been providing yeoman service to the protestors by not only arranging cars to have them picked up from detention centres in faraway places from where it is difficult to get back, but also arranging free counseling and therapy for them!On the night of October 12, the images in my mind of young men and women getting dragged across the road and thrown violently into buses were replaced by images of a veritable ocean of people marching down Barakhamba road chanting anti-Modi slogans fearlessly while police and security personnel stood aside and behaved.I was reminded of the salutary effect the farmers’ protests on the borders of Delhi in 2020-21 had on so many who went to visit them. So many found courage in the courage of the farmers. Sunshine may be a great disinfectant but democracy and solidarity have healing power!The view of the October 12, 2026 protest in Delhi from inside a cafe. Photo: Rohit KumarRahul Gandhi’s late night video echoed some of my own thoughts and questions – Where were the government’s goons on October 12? What happened to their bravado in the face of lakhs marching for democracy? Bullies, indeed, are cowards. They hunt in packs, but disappear in the face of courage.We will not soon forget the images from Barakhamba Road, especially the photos and videos taken from the tops of the Statesman building and others in the area. Even the most cynical doomsayers would have found pause seeing the huge number of opposition party workers and ordinary citizens coming out to reassert their fundamental rights as citizens in a democracy.As a kisan leader from the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) said when I asked him his thoughts on the day: “Gyanesh Kumar has destroyed democracy and the Constitution and we are here to make sure he leaves. India’s farmers are also part of this protest and when we set our minds to something, we make sure it happens.”Rohit Kumar is an educator and journalist and can be reached at letsempathize@gmail.com