ABSTRACT
Almost a year after the Delhi gang rape, at the beginning of another winter, a group of girls from Guruvār told me they would be participating in a Delhi Government initiative: a series of self-defence classes organised by the Delhi Police. The first day I observed this class; it began with fewer than 40 girls, but soon swelled to over 60. Latecomers running directly from school, still in uniform, joined the columns and rows of girls, rapidly decreasing the available space around each girl. The girls, aged between 15 and 18, were taught by two policewomen who wore wireless microphones that broadcasted their commands through the NGO’s speakers. The girls drilled the strikes, blocks, and punches in sets of ten, shouting “ke” with each effort. One instructor stood at the front leading the session while the other walked up and down the rows, intervening where necessary to physically move students’ bodies into the correct positions.
