You may command the stones to sleep,
And bid the streets forget their dead;
You may your gates of silence keep,
And banish all who dare to tread.
But who shall chain the human soul,
Or bid the heart its truth conceal?
The hand that seeks to crush the whole
May wound the flesh, but cannot heal.

Jantar Mantar! Thy ancient stones
Have watched the stars through ages roll;
Have marked the sun's returning course,
And measured time's unceasing toll.
A king once raised thee to explore
The heavens' immeasurable span;
Now thou dost face a mightier power:
The seat of rule, the pride of man.

Where wretched rulers frame their laws,
And power sits enthroned in state,
The poor stand up to question them,
And challenge those who guard the gate.
The farmer, bowed by debt and toil,
The student with a fearless cry,
The worker whom the world forgets,
Stand where the seats of power lie.

What strange reversal time has wrought!
The instrument that measured stars
Now measures power against the poor,
And dares to question iron bars.
The ancient sundial casts its shade
Across the road to Parliament;
And time, that outlives crown and throne,
Records the people's discontent.

The powerless have no gilded halls,
No armies waiting at their call;
No wealth to make their sorrows heard,
No voice within the ruler's hall.
They bring their grief, their hope, their cry,
Their placards lifted to the sky;
They face the mighty, stand their ground,
And ask why justice is not found.

But rulers, troubled by the sight
Of those who dare to stand upright,
Would drive their questions from the square,
And hide their grief beyond their care.
Denotify the ground, decree the ban,
And push the people from the land;
Call it order, call it peace,
While truth is told to keep its place.

O foolish pride! Dost thou believe
That grief departs when streets are bare?
That those denied the right to speak
Will lose the truth they came to bear?
The seed lies buried 'neath the stone,
Yet gathers strength to break its chain;
The stream may bend beneath thy will,
But finds its way to rise again.

For protest is not bound to ground,
Nor can dissent be silenced long;
It lives wherever hearts unite,
And conscience answers power's wrong.
It enters homes and classrooms too,
It travels through the printed word;
What rulers will not stoop to hear
May yet by countless others be heard.

Mistake not silence for consent,
Nor empty roads for peace restored;
The heart that bows beneath constraint
May yet pronounce its sternest word.
A nation is not free because
Its streets are still, its crowds are gone;
But when the weak confront the strong,
And speak their truth without fear of wrong.

The Constitution's promise stands
Above the ruler's passing will:
The right to meet, to join our hands,
To speak when injustice lingers still.
Keep order, yes; protect the street;
Let reason govern every right;
But do not drive beyond our sight
The citizens you dare not meet.

Jantar Mantar, thou hast measured time,
The sun's ascent, the stars' slow flight;
Now stand before the seat of power,
An ancient witness to the right.
Thy shadow falls on Parliament;
Thy silent stones proclaim their claim:
No throne, no law, no government
Can make dissent a thing of shame.

For time moves on, and rulers pass;
The proud grow weak, the mighty fall.
But those who stand for truth and justice
Leave their mark upon us all.
Let rulers ban the square if they must,
Let fences rise, and orders fly;
The people bear within their hearts
A freedom no decree can deny.

You may denotify the ancient square,
And drive the crowds beyond your sight;
But truth shall rise from everywhere,
And turn your darkness into light.
No iron hand, no stern command
Can make a captive conscience free;
You may evict the people from the land,
But never their right to liberty.