Hundreds protest at India Gate over Delhi’s toxic air as AQI stays 20–30 times above WHO limit
Police detain around 80 people, later release them; FIR registered for violating prohibitory orders
Protesters call for a clean-air policy, accuse authorities of inaction and data manipulation
Children, students and senior citizens join march, holding placards reading “Smog se Azadi!” and “Breathing is killing me”
Hundreds of residents gathered at India Gate in New Delhi on November 9, 2025 to demand urgent government action against the capital’s worsening air pollution.
According to the BBC, the protest saw close to 400 people, including children, university students, journalists and environmental activists, holding banners that read “Right to live, not just survive” and “Life in Delhi: Take birth, breathe, die.” Many wore gas masks as a symbolic gesture.
Police detained around 80 demonstrators for assembling without permission at the high-security landmark. “India Gate is not a protest site. It is a high-security area,” senior Delhi Police officer Devesh Mahla told reporters, BBC reported, adding that all detainees were later released.
Despite the demonstration being peaceful, no violence, just chants and signs, several protesters, including children, were allegedly detained on November 9. However, The Times of India reported that Delhi Police denied the claims.
On November 10, 2025, the police registered an FIR in connection with the protests, reported The Indian Express. According to an official, the gathering was held despite the non-approval of the Delhi Police. “Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was also imposed, and this was told to the people prior to the protest. Despite our regular requests to leave the site and shift to the Jantar Mantar, the people did not leave,” the officer told The Indian Express.
Delhi’s air quality has plunged to “very poor” levels, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) hovering between 300 and 400 over the past three weeks, nearly 20 to 30 times higher than the World Health Organization’s safe limit.
“This is a health emergency, not a blame game. Trial-and-error has failed our children. The government must deliver a clean-air policy now,” said one protester, according to NDTV. Another demonstrator told the outlet, “The rich can buy air purifiers or flee to the hills, but what about us? We have to fight every winter just to breathe.”
Some protesters voiced anger over official data and inaction. “Is the AQI data by the government even true anymore?” asked protester Prerna Mehra, alleging that water was being sprayed near monitoring stations “to fake a drop” in pollution levels, NDTV reported.
A 76-year-old man from Vasant Kunj told NDTV: “Governments change, but people suffer. I’m worried for my grandchildren. Construction everywhere continues unchecked, our green cover is disappearing.”
According to The Times of India, several parents brought children carrying nebulisers and medical prescriptions to highlight the health emergency. Placards at the scene read “Smog se Azadi!” and “Breathing is killing me.”
Some participants posted videos on social media showing police escorting protesters into buses. “India Gate clean-air protest. We are being taken away, shoved into a bus,” read one post on X, as cited by The Times of India.