Twenty-seven-year-old Rhiya has not been able to sleep since July 22. “That night, I stayed awake throughout. I did not catch a wink. I was awake till 5.30 a.m. on July 23,” she said.
Through that night, as she replayed in her head the images of herself stopping a police van in the rain in Dadar, Mumbai, the world had quietly turned her into an internet sensation. Through the same sleepless night, her images were shared several times — by celebrities and by young people alike. She had become a symbol of resistance.
Rhiya Yadav, known as Rhiya Ahir online, is the third of four siblings in the Yadav family. “I come from a house of faujis. My father retired from the Army, and he fully supports my participation in the protest. He does not agree with what is happening to our youth,” she said.
On July 22, when she took to the streets on a rainy day in Dadar to join an impromptu student protest, she saw a police van carrying young protesters and stopped it.
Rhiya Ahir stops a police van carrying young protesters
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
She said that when she realised the police did not have a memo to detain the youths, all she did was try to stop the van. “I had read about my rights. When I asked the policeman if he had a memo to detain those kids in the van, he was hesitant. That was when I knew I had to do something. It was dangerous to walk alongside the van, holding the hand of a detained girl protester. So I instinctively jumped in front of the van,” she said, recalling the incident.
Within a few minutes, several young people had gathered around her and joined her in shouting slogans like “Inquilab Zindabad!” (Long live the revolution).
The powerful image of a single girl stopping a police van with one hand was splashed across social media and newspapers, catapulting her into an overnight sensation. Feeling overwhelmed by the sudden attention, she said she is humbled.
“I was just trying to voice my opinion and exercise my right, and to be one with the entire movement that is happening across the nation — not just in Delhi or Mumbai, but everywhere. What prompted me to do what I did was realising that what the police were doing was illegal and should not be tolerated,” she said.
“I never, in my wildest thoughts, imagined that I would be portrayed as someone powerful enough to lead an entire movement. I have been flattered and humbled by the entire experience. People are comparing me to freedom fighters of India, and that is something I cannot accept. They took bullets in their chest. I am no freedom fighter. But I was ready to be a martyr that day. Even if they had run me over, I would have been happy. As Bhagat Singh says, if everything happening in society doesn’t make you angry, then you are not an Indian,” she said.
That Rhiya had worn a T-shirt that day reading ‘Maintenance’ was not a coincidence either. “The system is broken. We are here to maintain the broken system,” she said.
The daughter of a retired Army man, Rhiya said she was driven by a deep sense of injustice. “I am not a student. My father is not a farmer. I am not OBC. But I don’t have to be any of those things to stand for what is right,” she said.
“I wanted people to know that they can voice their opinions, that they can make a change, and that they can stand with us in solidarity even if they are not students. You are a citizen of India, and whatever is happening — the government is doing wrong by the citizens of India. There is no dignity left to be lived with in this country, and it is all because of the leaders,” she said, venting her frustration.
Speaking in support of Gen Z, she said she never accepted the public perception that Gen Z is insensitive or lazy.
When asked what one thing she wanted to say now that her voice is being heard, she called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Dharmendra Pradhan, please give us a chance. You have failed us. So if you can’t do your duty right, please get off the chair, so that someone capable, literate and empathetic towards the people they serve can take your place.”
An artist, dance enthusiast, model and businesswoman, Rhiya wears many hats. She is currently in the process of securing copyright for a screenplay she has written. “I want to do it all,” she said, adding that she will continue to raise her voice on non-political platforms for the issues she believes in.
Published – July 24, 2026 11:19 am IST
