A 12-year-old girl from West Bengal kept turning around to check that she had not lost sight of her father in the crowd.As dawn settled over Jantar Mantar on Saturday, the protest site swelled with a fresh rush of weekend arrivals. Students streamed in with backpacks, families joined in and sat on the mats already spread across the ground, and new posters were unfurled, while others staked out corners under tarpaulin sheets to prepare for the day ahead.With delivery riders physically barred by Delhi Police, food through the morning continued to be bulk‑ordered from Connaught Place and ferried in by auto‑rickshaws.The site, which drew around 5,000 people by morning, had taken on the character of a self-organised community. And while the protest has been led largely by Gen Z, at least 1,000 people in the gathering were from an older generation: parents, professionals, retired personnel and families who had come from across the country to stand with the young protesters. Some to stand with their children and others to stand in solidarity with a generation they said had found the courage to challenge the government.A 12-year-old girl from West Bengal kept turning around to check that she had not lost sight of her father in the crowd. Her parents had accompanied her after she insisted on coming to the protest. A few metres away, two retired Air Force personnel from Ghaziabad stood among the students. “I came here for these students. They are my kids,” said one of them. “If they can compel Modi to release a video at 12 in the night. Inn bacchon mein dum toh hein. (These children are courageous.)”For Neeta, 45, an environmental scientist from Gurugram, the young protesters served as a stark reminder of “the failures of her own generation.” She had been at the protest on June 20, when she said she was subjected to tear gas, and had returned on Saturday. “Our generation did nothing. We just did an MBA and minted money. This generation has a brain of its own,” she said.What struck her most, she said, was the sense of positivity at the protest. “From demonetisation to Ram Mandir chanda chori to inflation, everything is being raised here,” she said.A father-daughter duo had also travelled from Indore to the protest site. Priyank, a surgeon in his 40s, said his daughter, a medical student in Rishikesh, was also participating in the protests.Story continues below this adHe said the movement had broken what he saw as a long-standing fear of the government. “The fear of the government and Modi has been removed. This government has silenced people for quite a long time now,” he said.He said he was worried about the consequences his daughter could face for participating in the protest. But that concern, he added, had not made him afraid.“This is for the right cause,” he said.A family from West Bengal had travelled to Jantar Mantar on Saturday, with their 12-year-old daughter insisting on seeing the protest for herself. Keshav said his daughter had wanted to come to the protest alone. They accompanied her instead.Standing near the stage, Keshav kept an eye on her as she repeatedly turned around to make sure she had not lost sight of him in the crowd.Story continues below this ad“There needs to be a solution. I have been wondering for quite some days what the solution is. I think the answer I have come to is resignation. Then systemic reforms,” he said. He said he was worried about the consequences of bringing his daughter to the protest. His wife stood beside him, holding their daughter’s hand tightly as the crowd moved around them.Tabshir Shams covers health for The Indian Express. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations from South Asian University. Before joining The Indian Express, he interned at The Hindu from December 2025 to June 2026, where he assisted in the research and editing of a book on delimitation published by The Hindu Group Publications. During this time, he also wrote for The Hindu's Text & Context section, on subjects ranging from Pakistan's military establishment to Bangladesh's elections, and reported a Spotlight feature on a jute mill in Samastipur and its ripple effects on labour migration and the local economy. In July 2025, he interned at The Indian Express, where he wrote several explainers on international relations alongside a health report. His Master's thesis examines civil-military relations in Pakistan, with a focus on the post-2019 period. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:delhiJantar Mantar