Anna Hazare stages silent protest for Delhi students

Prominent social activist Anna Hazare staged a two-hour silent protest in Maharashtra on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in a show of solidarity with student demonstrators in New Delhi. The 89-year-old activist conducted his maun andolan from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Ahilyanagar before returning to his village of Ralegan Siddhi.

The protest followed a letter Hazare sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, in which he described reports of violence and police action against the student protesters as "extremely painful." In the letter, Hazare urged the government to view the students' anger "not as a law and order problem, but as the agony and expectations of society." He called for the government to listen to the protesters patiently, create an atmosphere of trust, and find solutions through positive dialogue.

Hazare also addressed the political dimension of the protests, suggesting that if Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were asked to resign, it would not cause the government to fall but would instead make its functioning more accountable and effective. Speaking to reporters after his silent protest, Hazare said he wrote to the prime...