Soft-spoken Desk, New Delhi. Delhi's Ramlila Maidan is not just a venue for staging Ramlila or political rallies. This ground has been witness to those pages of Indian history, where sometimes the voice of independence was raised, sometimes the movement against the government gained momentum and sometimes the country's politics took a new turn. From Mohammad Ali Jinnah's meeting to Jaiprakash Narayan's movement, Baba Ramdev's fast and Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement have attracted the attention of the country. Today once again there is a gathering of opposition parties in this historical ground.
Leaders of the India Alliance have united here over the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission. Many big faces of the opposition including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee are part of this gathering. The opposition has set a target of mobilizing a large number of people.
But the question is, what is so special about this ground situated in the middle of Delhi that whenever a big movement arises in the country's politics, Ramlila Maidan comes at the center of discussion? Let us know the story of this historical ground, which has seen the era from Mughal emperors to modern Indian politics.
The tradition of Ramlila started from Bahadur Shah Zafar
The popular history about the place where Ramlila Maidan is today tells that there used to be a pond here. Later this area became part of farming and population. This area is also said to be connected to old Indrapat village.
The tradition of organizing Ramlila here is believed to have started during the time of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in the 1850s. Gradually various organizations of Old Delhi started staging Ramlila here. For this reason, the identity of this place was established as Ramlila Maidan.
However, this religious-cultural event was banned during the British rule. In the year 1883, the British administration started using this place for soldiers' camp. Ramlila could not be organized here for a long time.
After this, due to the efforts of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, permission was given to organize Ramlila once again in 1911. After this this tradition started again and continues till today.
Expressed displeasure on Jinnah being called Maulana
The history of Ramlila Maidan was not limited to religious events only. Before independence, it also became an important center of political activities.
It is said that in a meeting organized here in the year 1945, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was addressed by the crowd as Maulana. However, Jinnah did not like this address. He clarified that he is not a religious maulana but a political leader.
Prominent leaders of the freedom movement like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel also addressed the people through public meetings on this ground. During the freedom struggle, this place remained an important center for political awareness and gathering public support.
In the year 1952, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, conducted Satyagraha here on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. This movement further strengthened the identity of this Maidan in national politics.
From Nehru to Shastri, the grounds echoed with the voices of big leaders.
After independence, the importance of Ramlila Maidan increased further. In the year 1955, its boundary wall was built and a permanent platform was constructed.
The country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held big public meetings here in 1956 and 1957. In January 1961, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II also attended a huge gathering here.
After the India-China war, in 1963, a historic cultural program took place on this same ground, which the country remembers even today. Famous singer Lata Mangeshkar had presented the patriotic song 'Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon' in the presence of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This song gave new energy to the feeling of patriotism and national unity among the countrymen after the war.
In the year 1965, during the meeting of the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the slogan of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' was also echoed here. During that period of war with Pakistan, this slogan brought the importance of soldiers and farmers to the center of national discourse.
1975: When the biggest challenge against Indira government was raised from this ground
The date of 25 June 1975 is very important in the history of Ramlila Maidan. On the same day, Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan addressed a huge public meeting against the government of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In this meeting, Jayaprakash Narayan called upon the people to unite against the government. During this time, poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's famous line 'vacate the throne so that the public comes' gave a new identity to the movement.
Shortly after this meeting, emergency was imposed in the country. A period of debate and protest began across the country regarding democracy, civil rights and political freedom.
After the end of the Emergency, in the year 1977, the opposition parties united in this ground and demonstrated new political strength. The political unity of the Janata Party came to the fore in the presence of many leaders including Morarji Desai, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chandrashekhar. This political stream later formed the government at the Center and challenged the long political dominance of the Congress.
2011: From Baba Ramdev's movement to midnight police action
Even in the new century, Ramlila Maidan remained the center of major movements. In the year 2011, Yogguru Baba Ramdev started a movement here to bring back the alleged black money stashed abroad to India and against corruption.
A large number of supporters gathered in this movement. The Delhi Police's midnight action amid the hunger strike and protests created controversy across the country. Police used force and released tear gas shells to remove the protesters. The incident sparked a national debate over the government's handling of and handling of the protests.
Anna Hazare's movement changed the political atmosphere of the country
In the year 2011 itself, Ramlila Maidan saw another big movement. This time the face of the movement was social activist Anna Hazare.
The issue was the demand for a strong Janlokpal law to curb corruption. Anna Hazare's fast received widespread public support across the country. From Delhi to small towns, people started joining this movement.
This movement, which lasted for several days at Ramlila Maidan, created huge political pressure on the then central government. This voice raised against corruption created new equations in the politics of the country. According to political analysts, this movement later prepared the ground for the emergence of many new faces and new political forces in Indian politics.
The path to the formation of Aam Aadmi Party also emerged from the background of this movement. Many people associated with the movement, including Arvind Kejriwal, later entered active politics.
Kejriwal and Rekha Gupta's oath taking ceremony also took place in this ground.
Ramlila Maidan has witnessed not only movements but also historic moments of change of power and formation of new governments.
On 28 December 2013, Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the first time in this very ground. This event was also special because Aam Aadmi Party had made its own identity in national politics by reaching power in Delhi shortly after its formation.
After this, after BJP returned to power in Delhi on 20 February 2025, Rekha Gupta also took oath as the Chief Minister in the same ground. In this way, Ramlila Maidan created a unique record of witnessing the formation of governments of different political ideologies and parties.
Why is Ramlila Maidan special?
The biggest feature of Ramlila Maidan is that it has closely witnessed almost every major phase of Indian politics. Religious traditions and cultural events took place here and the voice of the fight for freedom was also raised. When there were movements to protect democracy, people also gathered against corruption.
The ruling party has shown its strength on this field and the opposition has also challenged the governments. The slogans raised here have many times influenced the political direction and public opinion of the country.
Now the current rally of opposition parties on the issue of Special Intensive Review (SIR) has once again brought this historical site to the center of national politics.
The identity of this Maidan, which started with Ramlila during the era of Bahadur Shah Zafar, has reached the freedom struggle, opposition to emergency, anti-corruption movements and change of power. This is the reason why Ramlila Maidan of Delhi is not just an event venue, but is considered a living witness of the struggles, movements and political changes of Indian democracy.