Demonstrators scaled barricades at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, during an agitation demanding reforms to the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act governing India's caste-based reservation system. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Protesters scuffled with security personnel at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, as demonstrations over demanded changes to the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act turned tense. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
People staged a large demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, calling for overhaul of the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act and pressing for substantive changes to India's reservation framework. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Crowds assembled at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 21 August 2026, demanding an overhaul of both the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act as part of a broader push for reservation system reform in India. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Participants in a reservation reform rally filled Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, voicing opposition to current provisions of the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Agitators at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026 pressed for legislative changes to the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act, arguing that the existing reservation framework requires urgent reform. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Demonstrators rallied at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, targeting provisions of the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act and calling for a thorough review of India's education and employment reservation policies. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
New Delhi witnessed a public demonstration on 21 August 2026 at Jantar Mantar, with protesters calling for reforms to the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act that underpin India's caste-based reservation system. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026 to challenge the status quo on caste-based reservation, specifically targeting provisions within the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Protesters at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026 specifically targeted provisions of the UGC Act alongside the SC/ST Act, demanding that Parliament revisit the reservation framework governing higher education. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Calls for reform of the SC/ST Act and the UGC Act echoed at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, as demonstrators pressed for structural changes to India's reservation policy framework. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
An agitation over reservation policy drew demonstrators to Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, with participants demanding amendments to both the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Protesters at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026 urged a comprehensive overhaul of India's reservation system, identifying the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act as key legislative targets. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
India's reservation debate spilled onto the streets at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, as protesters demanded that the Centre revisit the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Public anger over the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act was on display at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, with demonstrators demanding that reservation laws be reformed to better reflect contemporary needs. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Citizens demanding reservation law reform gathered at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, with their core demands centred on amendments to the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Advocate Anil Mishra addressed the media at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, articulating the protesters' demands for reform of the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act governing India's reservation system. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)
Advocate Anil Mishra voiced the agitation's key demands to the press at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 21 August 2026, calling for legislative changes to the UGC Act and the SC/ST Act to reform India's caste-based reservation framework. (Photo: NationPress/Prem Nath Pandey)