In December 2012, New Delhi witnessed a horrific crime – a female student was violently gang-raped on a moving bus and then dumped onto the highway, injured and unconscious. While she didn’t survive the attack, Nirbhaya, as she was named by the media, sparked a revolution in India. The rape and fatal took place on December 16, 2012, in Munirka, a neighbourhood in southwest Delhi. The girl was gang raped, beaten and brutally tortured by 6 men in a private bus on which she was travelling with her male friend. This dreadful gang rape and murder, known as the Nirbhaya case, shook the entire nation and eventually other nations too.
The widespread outrage over the crime gave rise to unprecedented protests over the weeks that followed. Public protests started on December 21, 2012, at India Gate and Raisina Hill, the latter being the location of both the Parliament of India and Rashtrapati Bhavan. This ignited a movement throughout the country. Thousands of people marched in rage and silence in various cities and towns only to amplify the protests with every passing day. Demonstrations, agitations, rallies, candle light marches kept on demanding justice for Nirbhaya. Online outcry on social networking sites and online petitions also fed the volume of the movement. India Gate observed the clash of protesters/ demonstrators/ mourners/ activists with the police and Rapid Action Force units. Nation was boiling and it became quite evident with the fierce agitations which were tried to be controlled by lathi charges, water cannons and tear gas shells. The iconic Rajpath became a witness to one of the greatest movements against rape. This was a soul stirring movement that carved out one of the most sensitive representation of people’s power.