Thousands joined the Reclaim the Night movement on the eve of Independence Day last year. A year later, many say they have failed to reclaim justice. They are disillusioned but not discouraged in the long wait for change.

One participant, psychologist Sumana Bagchi, was at the gathering in Jadavpur on August 14, 2024. “There is no end to crimes against women,” she said on Thursday. “Most of us live in denial. Rapes keep happening. People move on with their lives.”

She added: “Mental fatigue may have crept in. The mass movement has been compromised — the man accused of raping a law student on her college campus in June was among us last year, demanding justice for the slain RG Kar junior doctor. And he is not alone; many who walked with candles and posters also stalk, harass, and abuse women.”

Others echoed Bagchi’s disappointment. ENT doctor Manojendra Narayan Bhattacharyya also took part in last year’s Reclaim the Night protest in Jadavpur. “We took to the streets with a simple plea for justice — basic workplace security, a right of every individual,” he told Metro on Thursday. “What we got in return was a state using its machinery to suppress us.”

“I am disappointed in how things have been handled... But human beings are hopeful by nature, and we still live in hope of reclaiming justice,”
he added.

The Independence Day eve movement in 2024 saw mass protests across the city and beyond. Social worker Shikha Metharamani was at the gathering outside the Academy of Fine Arts last year. But mindsets have not changed, she said on Thursday. “It is society’s mindset that continues to degrade and objectify women,” she said.

“Only when people start believing that women cannot be taken lightly and the law cannot be taken lightly will there be change — and that is the change we wish to see,” Metharamani said.

“Until then, each protest feels like a volcano that erupts with a horrific tragedy, then falls silent until the next one strikes.”