and fathers who had accompanied the women earlier were no longer there. There were men there alright but these were people driven by political ideology. The women talked aggressively and fast about equality, apathy and sensitisation while the men sat passively and listened.

It is now a feminist movement. Made so, partly by the ribald talk of people like 25-year-old Rohit Chahal, state secretary, ABVP, who believed that women symbolised the “culture and tradition” of the country. The discourse of such conservatives gave women’s rights activists their opportunity to claim the movement. Says Dr Ruchika Sharma, 32-year-old feminist and professor of History at Delhi University, “We need a political language to fight this fight, it cannot be apolitical. We have our ideas and ideology in place. We want equalitythe issue becomes about the freedom of women, it starts irking people because quite simply, patriarchy pays,” she says.

This fight, unlike the spontaneous mass movement following the rape, is not a new one. It has been a part of the system for years. Krishnan is backed only by a handful of Delhi University undergraduates and AISA regulars. Sensing a lull in the movement, she organised a consultative meeting, ‘Keeping the Flame Alive—Campaign for Women’s Safety, Freedom, Rights,’ in the first week of January. Over 200 turned up to participate in the discussion on a new set of legal reforms aimed at safeguarding women. After this, Krishnan launched the official campaign, ‘Freedom without Fear’ also known as ‘Bekhauf Azaadi’, complete with an organised Google page that emails the venues