They turned Jantar Mantar into an open-air gallery. There were hand-drawn cartoons, satirical placards, costumes and memes. One protester displayed a sanitary napkin with a handwritten line mocking the exam paper leak.
Elsewhere, protesters edited footage of their own escape like a mobile game, turning a real police chase into something instantly recognisable and almost funny while it was still happening. When Pradhan finally resigned, the crowd sang the national anthem before breaking into dance. After a month of frustration, relief spilt over into celebration.
They used a napkin. A meme. The national anthem. A dance floor. Different things, the same instinct: take something familiar and make it political.
Dissent isn’t always a crowd on a street. Sometimes it’s a woman refusing to write the version of her story everyone expects.
That’s what Refusing to Live in Black & White is about. Not just protest, but the many ways people push back against the roles written for them.
Two days left for the launch. To attend, request a free invite by registering on the website.