From NEET and job-related protests to demonstrations over women's safety and the Election Commission, 2026 has seen protests over a range of issues. With fresh demonstrations making headlines and more being planned, it may seem like India has been protesting all year.
But does the data tell the same story?
The year began with protests over different public concerns, and the focus has shifted from one issue to another.
In recent days, demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have drawn attention, with pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) announcing plans for further protests. Each protest has its own demands, but together they have kept demonstrations in the news.
To understand whether this is just a headline-driven impression or part of a longer trend, we looked at data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project (ACLED), covering demonstrations in India from 2016 to September 26, 2026.
The analysis includes records with a population-exposure estimate above 300. This is an estimate of the population exposed to an event, not the number of people attending a protest.
Protests Have Increased Over The Decade
India recorded 10,728 demonstrations in 2016 under this filter. By 2025, the number had climbed to 20,562, an increase of around 92 per cent in nine years.
The rise was not steady every year. Demonstrations increased through 2019, fell in 2020, and then picked up again. The count reached 21,799 in 2024, the highest in the period covered by this series, before dropping to 20,562 in 2025.
In 2026, India had recorded 18,323 demonstrations by September 26. So, the numbers do support the impression that demonstrations have become more frequent over the past decade. But there is another side to this story: not all protests have been violent.
Peaceful Protests Make Up The Bulk
Peaceful protests account for the largest share of demonstrations in every year in the data. Their number rose from 8,893 in 2016 to 18,885 in 2025. In 2024, the count crossed 20,000.
Violent demonstrations, meanwhile, followed a different pattern. Their number rose from 937 in 2016 to 1,347 in 2019. But from 2020 onwards, their share of all demonstrations was considerably lower.
In 2016, violent demonstrations accounted for around 8.7 per cent of the annual total. By 2019, the share was about 7.5 per cent. It fell to around 3.1 per cent in 2021. For 2026, up to September 26, the share stood at around 3.7 per cent.
The number of demonstrations has risen sharply compared with 2016, but violence has not increased at the same pace. In recent years, violent demonstrations have accounted for a much smaller share of the total.
Which States Recorded Most Violent Demonstrations?
The state-wise data, covering 2015 to September 26, 2026, shows that violent demonstrations were not evenly distributed across India.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest number, at 1,377, followed by West Bengal with 1,043. Uttar Pradesh recorded 685, Assam 521 and Bihar 500. Odisha, Kerala and Manipur also reported more than 450 violent demonstrations each.