A short history of Ramlila Maidan: From JP’s protest against Indira Gandhi to AAP’s birth

A few days ago, while talking about the INDIA alliance’s mega “Loktantra Bachao Rally” being held at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Sunday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Gopal Rai described the venue as the “birthplace of movements”.

He was not off the mark given that it happens to be the place where the India Against Corruption movement spearheaded by social activist Anna Hazare was centred in 2011. The movement ultimately led to the birth of the AAP and created the momentum that led to the ouster of the Congress-led UPA government from power at the Centre.

But the history of the Ramlila Maidan is far older, going back to the early 1930s when it was created by filling up a pond located between Old and New Delhi. According to historian Narayani Gupta, the grounds near Ajmeri Gate, where the Maidan is currently located, played host to Ramlila celebrations as far back as the 19th Century, with the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, himself ordering a change in the path of the procession so he could view it. Zafar’s reign lasted from 1837 to 1857. By 1876, it was the custom to celebrate Ramlila outside the Gate, which is today about a kilometre from Ramlila Maidan, after a procession through Chandni Chowk.

Over the decades, the ground has become more than just a festival venue, having played host to momentous changes in Indian politics as other venues eclipsed the Ramlila Maidan as a gathering place for festivals.

In 1975, it was the site of a protest led by Jayaprakash Narayan against the Indira Gandhi government. Earlier in the year, Indira lost a petition in the Allahabad High Court accusing her of malpractices in her election to the Lok Sabha in 1971. Her election win from Raebareli was declared void. After the Supreme