Pizzas, Burgers, and Momos From Across the Globe: How India Fed Its Protesters at Jantar Mantar

At the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi, the barricades were not the only thing piling up. So was the food. In an extraordinary show of solidarity, hundreds of people from across India and even from overseas ordered meals online for the protesters, turning the demonstration into an impromptu feast.

Aayu Jacob, an 18 year old delivery rider, had already made 20 trips to the intersection of Tolstoy Marg and Sansad Marg by Tuesday evening. “Since morning, I have done 20 rounds here to deliver pizzas. Out of that, four orders were from the US,” he said. “Other delivery agents from our restaurant are also coming here.”

Every few minutes, another delivery person would pull up with food meant for no one in particular. The instructions on the apps were simple. Deliver to the Jantar Mantar protest site and give it to anyone there.

The orders varied wildly. There were pizzas, burgers, momos, and full thaalis. One single order placed through Mr. Jacob’s restaurant was for 80 pizzas. Govind, another delivery rider, said he made 18 trips carrying everything from 10 cups of chai to 34 burgers to 200 samosas. “I send photos to some people of the food being distributed,” he said.

Shahroz Akbar, 42, stopped to deliver his sixth order of the day. The instruction on his app read, “Please offer this to anyone at the jantar mantar protest site.” He handed over the momos to a volunteer who promised to distribute them.

The support came from unexpected places. One person who ordered pizzas spoke to The Hindu over the phone. He was from Bihar but currently studying nursing in Bangalore. “I had written NEET in the past and then the question paper got leaked. I later gave it up and took up nursing. I can’t come there now, but I wanted to show support to the students protesting,” he explained.

Even the delivery riders got involved in the cause. Govind, who has two children, said he took an order to deliver food inside the protest site even though it took an hour and he was paid only 20 rupees. “I felt happy to distribute food inside for the students. These people are protesting for the right cause,” he said.

By nightfall, the situation had become overwhelming. Ayush Rai, a volunteer at the site, said he and his brother had been ferrying food from the intersection to the protesters for hours. The problem was no longer finding food. It was finding people to eat it.

With so many online orders and individuals showing up in person with food, distribution became a challenge by 10 pm. The Cockroach Janta Party, which organized the protest, finally had to issue a plea on social media.

“India is such a beautiful country with such beautiful people – thanks for sending food for protesters. We are so overwhelmed. BUT for today, we have received more than enough food – please don’t send any more!” the official CJP handle posted on X at 10:55 pm.

For one day at least, the protesters had more than they could ask for. And the food delivery apps had their busiest day at a protest site.