New Delhi: Three things stood out most at the Chalo Dilli rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1: the sheer numbers and diversity of the people who turned up, the anger in the air against the government, and the support and respect for Rahul Gandhi who has spearheaded the campaign against vote chori, or the stealing of votes.Gandhi was likely not exaggerating when he declared from the stage that, after a rally of this magnitude, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, would find it difficult to sleep easy.To paraphrase Shakespeare a bit: Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! Modi doth murder sleep”,Gyanesh hath murder’d democracy, and therefore Shah shall sleep no more;Modi — who, as it is, subsisted only on four hours of sleep a night — shall sleep no more.”What is possibly becoming abundantly clear to the BJP is that those who came to Ramlila Maidan in the lakhs are not going to be placated any more by Modi’s jumlas. The farmers, in particular, who were present in large numbers yesterday, spat fire. Ramesh Kumar from Rohtak, for example, was furious!“If the government still doesn’t listen even now, we will come out onto the streets! We are not scared of Amit Shah or Modi. We don’t fear dictatorship. Each of our homes will send forth a Bhagat Singh, so don’t even think of repressing us! Our children are angry because there are no jobs. What do we have left? Everything has been taken from us! Tell me, what hasn’t been sold off? I’ll tell you what hasn’t still been sold off — the humanity, brotherhood and solidarity which you see here! They want to sell off the country but we won’t let them!”‘What is possibly becoming abundantly clear to the BJP is that those who came to Ramlila Maidan in the lakhs are not going to be placated any more by Modi’s jumlas.’ Photo: Rohit Kumar.I asked him if had a message for Modi and Shah.“My message for Modi and Shah is that they should have an exit plan ready. The public won’t spare you even if you run off to the USA or the UK. I suggest you leave before regime change happens because then you will have nowhere to hide. And don’t try to stop us because we will not be repressed or stopped! We will die if we have to, but we won’t be stopped!”Seeing his anger, I was glad that Rahul Gandhi in his speech later that day stressed that even resistance to oppression must be rooted in love and mohabbat.Ramesh Kumar then launched a broadside against the ‘godi’ or lapdog media:“Where are they on a day like this? They are nowhere to be seen! Wasn’t this the day to come and report? But they won’t have the courage to come and stand amongst us, do they, because they know we have questions for them! They have sold their souls for money!”I met a number of young people who made it a point to tell me they were “apolitical” and not affiliated to any political party, but they were here just to protest against vote chori.One young man holding up a placard that said ‘Janta Jaagi Hai, Ab Loktantra Ki Baari Hai (the public has awoken, it is time for democracy),’ said: “Vote for the Congress, vote for the BJP, vote for whoever you want, but at least play fair in that area!”Vinod Bharti, a Delhi resident, surprised me with his story. “I was associated with the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] for 20 years, but I have since parted ways with them. I am genuinely impressed by Rahul Gandhi. He is an honest man and is fighting for the rights of the poor and the labouring classes, and I have decided to support him.“Modi, who himself is a product of the RSS, promised us two crore jobs every year and called himself the chowkidar. But what kind of chowkidar is he? He has allowed everything in this country to be stolen!“I was once a diehard BJP and RSS supporter. But I eventually realised that they don’t care about the well-being of the poor and the working classes. I simply cannot see eye to eye with them anymore.”His friend, Sanjay, also a resident of Delhi, agreed and said: “Their old communal tricks aren’t working so well anymore and they are finding it harder and harder to play the ‘Hindu khatre me hai [Hindus are in danger]’ card. I am so glad so many people have come out to Ramlila Maidan today. It is high time for all of us to step outside the safe confines of our homes and fight for our democracy.” Abha Dev Habib, a physics teacher in Miranda college shared an insight: ”The institutional capture by the RSS is worrying. I am told even in police stations you will find a pracharak who will tell the police which FIR to register and which not to. This kind of lawlessness, incidentally, is an integral part of fascism. Across the world, young people are feeling hopeless because they can’t negotiate with the system anymore, and so they are taking to the streets in protest. Even in India, Gen Z and Gen Alpha know the government and the system will give them nothing and so they feel the only way they can make their voice heard is through protest.”‘Even in India, Gen Z and Gen Alpha know the government and the system will give them nothing’. Photo: Rohit Kumar.I asked her to share her thoughts as a teacher about the future of India, and she said:“In a country where 50% of the population is below the age of 35, the government has to invest in public health and public education. Without this, we are not going to have a strong nation. My fear as a teacher is that public funded education is being eroded. One lakh government schools have been shut down! In higher education also, the investment of the government has gone down. Instead of grants, they are now giving loans. As a result, a huge number of children and young people are going to be left out of the ambit of education which, as the founders of modern India knew, is the only way to bring people from the margins into the mainstream.” One of the most striking visuals of the day was a very long scroll with names of voters in two constituencies whose names have been deleted during the SIR. The scroll was several hundred meters long (some said up to a kilometre long). Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi | Congress workers display names of 99 lakh voters allegedly deleted from electoral rolls at the INDIA bloc’s ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ rally.@tarunzero reports for @thewire_in https://t.co/OSwgZA2eLm— The Wire (@thewire_in) November 1, 2026I asked one of the young men carrying it, “How long is this?” Bhagat Singh, a young farmer from Haryana replied: “This list is so long it ate up India’s democracy! Look at it. There is no fairness or integrity in this list. The Special Intensive Revision has been done to hollow out our democracy. First, they passed a law to save Gyanesh Kumar and then they took the heart out of elections. How are we, the younger generation supposed to believe that we will continue living in a democracy?”Photo: Rohit Kumar.I asked him if he had any questions for Modi. He answered with:“What’s the point of asking him anything? He won’t answer. He is the prime minister of such a large country but he hasn’t even done a single press conference! I feel especially bad for children who have grown up only seeing godi media and think that is what journalism is. But that is not journalism.”“Modi has received such large, popular mandates, but there is still so such poverty everywhere. Do you see all the farmers here? They have all left their crops in other people’s hands only because they have felt compelled to come here and register their plight and their desperation!”“Modi is probably so stressed by the grip Donald Trump has on him that he can’t think clearly anymore! I don’t think he even understands the great responsibility that comes with being a prime minister! He travels abroad and laughs, “Khi khi khi!” It’s embarrassing! When Marco Rubio lands in India, he goes straight to Mumbai! Does he not know that the capital of India is New Delhi? Who is running India? Is it the BJP and the government of India or is it someone else?” And then in a moment of exasperation he added: “People say, ‘If not Modi, who?’ My answer to that is, me! If not Modi, me! A kid like me can run the country better than Modi, for God’s sake! What has he done anyway that he is so indispensable?”I asked the young people present, including Bhagat Singh, a simple question: What would a better India look like to you?Bhagat Singh’s reply:“It should be a democracy like the kind Nehru envisioned after India became independent”Ruby Khan from Uttar Pradesh said: “An India where the corrupt are behind bars, where women are safe, where every child gets a decent education and where every citizen has a right to vote!”Vijeta, a Delhi University student, put it simply: “An India where the marginalised are no longer pushed to the margins, and where labourers, farmers and Adivasis get the rights, dignity and fair share they deserve.”A 34-year-old said without a second’s hesitation: “Freedom! Political and economic freedom and equality. The youth want space and freedom. I want to be able to choose for myself. I should have a right to vote. My thoughts and my opinions should count for something. I should have a voice and I should be able to talk about what is happening in my country. I want love, peace and truth. That’s the India I want.”Rohit Kumar is an educator, author and journalist who can be reached at letsempathize@gmail.com.