Woman spends 5 hours standing with national flag at Delhi's CP. Here's her message

A woman from Kolkata held the national flag for over five hours during a protest at Delhi's Connaught Place. Her silent vigil has gone viral.A woman from Kolkata stood at Delhi's Connaught Place holding the national flag. (Photos: fati.amma/instagram)New Delhi,Oct 14, 2026 13:31 ISTAmid the commotion at Delhi’s Connaught Place on October 12, a woman from Kolkata made her presence felt without raising a slogan. She stood for hours with the Indian flag held aloft, explaining that she had come to stand up for the Constitution and show solidarity with those protesting for fair elections.A video of Adrita Roshni’s silent protest, recorded by independent journalist Fatima Khan on October 12, has gone viral on Instagram. It showed her standing still with the national flag as police personnel moved around Connaught Place, where protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had gathered.Curious about the woman’s determination, Fatima approached her and asked how long she had been standing. Adrita said she had been there since 1 pm, and it was already 6:15 pm.When asked whether her hands were hurting, she replied, “All the people of this country, irrespective of class, caste, gender who are alive, who are still human beings are in a lot of pain, so it doesn’t matter.” Explaining why she had come to the protest site, Adrita said the treatment of women and journalists in the preceding days had moved her to act. She also recalled being detained alongside a lawyer two days earlier.“It’s high time that whoever you are, whatever you do, you might be driving an auto, you might be doing nothing, do whatever to save the constitution,” she said. Despite the tense atmosphere, Adrita found encouragement in small gestures from strangers. Some people had approached her to ask whether she needed water or food, she told Fatima.“This is the spirit of India, the spirit of humanity, the empathy, this is our power,” she said, adding, “I’m not from any political party, we are all in this together.”Watch the video here:The video impressed many viewers, who admired Adrita’s patience and resolve and saluted her decision to make her presence felt through a silent protest.The demonstrations on Saturday were organised by the CJP and student groups. Protesters raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision process.Heavy security was deployed across Delhi as protesters attempted to gather, and police detained demonstrators at various locations, including Connaught Place.- Ends