Mumbai: Famous for its political rallies, agitations and cricket matches, Mumbai’s historic Azad Maidan is again in the spotlight after a stir led by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil demanding quota for Marathas took place at the ground.
The 25-acre open ground in the Fort area, right opposite the Victorian-era Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) train station and fenced by the elite Bombay Gymkhana, has seen a lot in its time.
From the Indian freedom struggle to farmers’ long march in 2018 and the latest Maratha quota agitation, the ground, well, a designated portion of the ground, has witnessed Bombay change to Mumbai. It also hosts 22 cricket pitches.
Renamed as such in 1960 for its significance in the independence movement, Azad Maidan saw Mahatma Gandhi’s address back in the 1930s, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar playing as a young kid in the Harris Shield school tournament in the 1980s and more recently, the swearing-in of two chief ministers: Vilasrao Deshmukh of the Congress in 2004 and Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP in 2024.
Strategically located, Azad Maidan is a stone’s throw from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, Esplanade court, Metro Cinema and Fashion Street. It is also near the power centres of Maharashtra: the Mantralaya, Vidhan Bhawan and the Bombay High Court. The Mumbai Press Club and Marathi Patrakar Sangh are close by, with the presence of media helping amplify issues raised at the ground.
At one time, Azad Maidan used to see dozens of protests as well as marches, especially when the assembly was in session, though the rules have changed over the decades and protests are now held under strict conditions.
Then, protesters would either hold rallies or protest day in and out so that lawmakers could hear their pleas in the nearby assembly. Pavements around the ground were crowded, with people holding banners and giving away pamphlets. A loud clarion filled the air. Police personnel remained on high alert, depending on the nature of the protest.
Over time, the protests have got subdued and no marches are permitted now. The clamour has dimmed in the noise and bustle of the financial capital of India as well as change in the city’s character and people.
Speaking to ThePrint, Ajinkya Gaikwad, professor of politics in Mumbai, said the location of Azad Maidan near the power centre of Maharashtra always helped.
“The city got built on elitist lines. From a working class, movement-oriented city, Mumbai became the city of dreams and aspirations and fell into the elite way of life. So, Azad maidan is the only spot for protests now,” Gaikwad said.
Jatin Desai, an author who covered many protests at Azad Maidan, said the nature of protests at the site has also changed due to strict controls.
“Earlier, from Azad Maidan, rallies used to start from and go to Kala Ghoda or anywhere else and used to end in a sabha (meeting). And this used to generate a good response from people,” he said.
Azad Maidan has also been known for cricket matches, especially interschool matches, and cricket coaching.
In 1988, Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli shared a 664-run record partnership in the Harris Shield tournament. And in 2013, Mumbai teen Prithvi Shaw created history with 546 runs in single innings during a Harris Shield match at Azad Maidan.
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A look back
The Bombay fort was completed in 1716 and a ground in front of it was opened for surveillance purposes. The entire area was called Esplanade during the British era.
In the 1860s, the fort walls were demolished and the Esplanade area was reformed into grounds Oval, Cross, and Cooperage as well as those of Azad Maidan which was named thus in 1960.
During the Revolt of 1857, two sepoys were executed by the British Army in public view at the maidan. Post that, in the 1930s, the ground saw one of the largest meetings held by Mahatma Gandhi and also became a hub of the civil disobedience movement in Mumbai.
When Gandhi was arrested by the British in 1930, huge protests erupted in the city, including at Azad Maidan. After his release in January 1931, he addressed a large gathering at the maidan and gave the call for Purna Swaraj. According to government estimates, over 2 lakh people congregated at the ground.
Apart from hosting people from marginalised communities, Dalits, tribals and transgenders, the maidan also witnessed the Great Bombay Textile Strike of 1982-83.
Talking about the ground, Desai said: “As protesters would walk on the streets, this used to generate curiosity among common Mumbaikars who would know what the issue was. The protestors used to hand out pamphlets but all that has stopped now unless it’s a big protest.”
In recent times, Indian farmers’ long march from Nashik to Mumbai in 2018 culminated at Azad Maidan. It saw thousands of adivasi farmers marching to the capital of Maharashtra pressing for demands related to land-owning, among others. Then in 2020, protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act-National Register of Citizens (CAA-NRC) saw thousands of men, women and children gathering at the ground, reciting Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s Hum Dekhenge and sloganeering against the government.
Changing times
Azad Maidan has not been the only protest site in Mumbai. Earlier, places like Hutatma Chowk, Kala Ghoda and Churchgate were sites for agitations and demonstrations outside the Mantralaya were also permitted.
However, in 1997, the Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens’ Association and other resident associations in South Mumbai approached the Bombay High Court, claiming that the protests disturbed their peace and noise pollution was common due to sloganeering. Their petition also mentioned that office-goers, residents and students were affected.
Since then, based on the interim order, protests were restricted at Azad Maidan. Hearings continued, and in 2011, the government had said that a committee would outline rules and a policy for the ground.
Earlier this year, the court ruled that the Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules, 2025, would be notified, earmarking Azad Maidan as the designated area for dharnas, agitations, pickets, meetings, processions, hunger strikes, or any other form of protest.
Anyone wishing to protest at the ground needs to take permission from the police which will be granted from morning until sunset and not for weekends or holidays.
On Mumbai’s changing character, Gaikwad said: “Public empathy started shifting. Newer Mumbaikars feel that protests are irrelevant to them. Therefore, they look down on such activities.”
But Azad Maidan has symbolic value, he added, and there will always be administrative, bureaucratic and police interventions in any protest
There is greater regulation of any protest now, and there is presence of police, CRPF personnel and other government machinery around the site.
“With the regulation of protests, I feel the demonstrations have got restricted,” Desai said.
Not just symbolically but physically, too, the ground seems to be shrinking.
At the entrance of Azad Maidan, Mumbai Metro’s Aqua line station is getting constructed and some portion of the land was temporarily acquired for the same. With the opening of the station, sometime at the end of the year or early next year, more common citizens would use the space, and the government would get more reason to regulate protests at the historic ground.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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