新德里 — 多年来，尼图和她的儿子尼赫尔一直在新德里市中心标志性的詹塔尔·曼塔尔抗议现场附近的街头市场摆摊，售卖传统印度服饰。随着节日季在一周多前拉开序幕，他们的销售额理应飙升；然而，这些商贩却面临巨额亏损。
NEW DELHI -- For years, Neetu and her son Nikhil have been hawking traditional Indian outfits at a street market near the iconic Jantar Mantar protest site in the heart of New Delhi. With the festive season having kicked off a little more than a week ago, their sales should be soaring; instead, the merchants are staring at huge losses.
尽管詹塔尔·曼塔尔 — — 印度议会附近的一座18世纪天文台 — — 已被宣布为禁止抗议区，且警力密集，抗议者仍试图进入该地区。因此，“普通购物者正试图避开混乱，”尼图说，她补充道，交通限制和绕行也让购物者望而却步。
But despite Jantar Mantar, an 18th-century observatory near the Indian Parliament, being declared a no-protest zone, and despite a heavy police presence, protestors still try to make their way to the area. As a result, "regular shoppers are trying to avoid the chaos," Neetu said, adding that traffic restrictions and diversions have also discouraged shoppers.
她指向自己未售出的装饰衬衫和长裙库存 — — 女性在九夜节舞蹈表演中穿着的服装。一套衬衫和裙子大约售价4000卢比（42美元）。
She gestured toward her unsold stock of embellished blouses and long skirts that women wear for Navratri festival dance programs. Together, a blouse and skirt run about 4,000 rupees ($42).
今年的节日季将持续至11月11日，但由于附近的Z世代和印度反对党领导的抗议活动针对首席选举委员贾尼什·库马尔以及全国范围内的选民名单审查，市场商贩几乎没有理由感到喜庆。
This year's season, which lasts through Nov. 11, has given the market's merchants little reason to feel festive as nearby Gen-Zers and India's opposition parties lead a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a nationwide review of electoral rolls.
抗议者称选民名单正被操纵以利于总理纳伦德拉·莫迪领导的执政党印度人民党（BJP），而BJP和选举委员会否认了这一指控。
The protesters allege the voter rolls are being manipulated to favor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a charge the BJP and the Election Commission deny.
在警方过度执法的指控中，许多示威者被拘留。上周，蟑螂人民党（CJP） — — 一个通过抗议获得政治势头的讽刺运动 — — 的领导人在试图进入詹塔尔·曼塔尔时被拘留。
Amid allegations of police excesses, many demonstrators have been detained. Last week, leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical movement that has gained political momentum through protests, were detained when they tried to enter Jantar Mantar.
数月前，CJP曾在詹塔尔·曼塔尔举行数周的抗议活动，抗议医学院入学考试试卷据称泄露。这些抗议导致莫迪政府的教育部长在七月辞职。至于当前的抗议活动，德里警察于10月11日取消了詹塔尔·曼塔尔作为指定抗议场地的资格，并确定了三个远离这座18世纪天文台的替代地点。
Months earlier, the CJP held weekslong protests at Jantar Mantar over alleged leaks of a medical school entrance exam. The rallies resulted in the resignation of Modi's education minister in July As for the current protests, Delhi Police on Oct. 11 dropped the Jantar Mantar venue as a designated protest site and identified three alternatives far from the 18th-century observatory.
“持续的抗议导致路障设置和大规模安全部署，对我们的业务造成了严重冲击，” 尼图说，“我们正面临巨额财务损失。” 该市场的大多数商户在为期九天的纳瓦拉特里节期间完成主要销售。去年，他们“在不到10天的时间内售罄所有库存并获得了可观利润，” 尼图说。
"Continuous protests leading to barricading and heavy security deployment have hit our business hard," Neetu said, "and we are facing major financial losses." Most of the market's merchants make their sales during the nine-day Navratri festival. Last year, they "sold all their stock in less than 10 days and made good profit," Neetu said.
尼希尔补充说，他们的店铺“愿意为穿越抗议现场的购物者每双提供500至600卢比的折扣”，“但我们没有收到真正对纳瓦拉特里舞蹈服装感兴趣的买家”，他说。
Nikhil added that their shop is "willing to offer a discount of 500 to 600 rupees per pair" to shoppers who wade through the protests, "but we are not receiving genuine buyers" interested in Navratri dance ensembles, he said.
销售类似服装的希拉表示，该地区地铁站因抗议而临时因安全原因关闭后重新开放，顾客几天前开始陆续到来。但希拉补充说，此时的客流量不到去年同期的一半。“如果我们在2025年节日期间每天能卖出10双，”她说，“这一次我们几乎只能卖出三到四双。”
Sheela, who sells similar outfits, said customers started trickling in a few days ago after metro rail stations in the area reopened, following a temporary security-related closure due to the protests. But, Sheela added, their numbers are less than half of last year's around this time. "If we sold 10 pairs a day during the festive season in 2025," she said, "this time we are hardly able to sell three to four."
在几米外经营生意的普拉卡什补充道：“由于抗议，这次到店的顾客很少。去年，这条街被购物者挤得水泄不通。我们投入资金采购了这些商品，但现在恢复似乎不可能。这对我们来说是巨大损失。” 周日，全印度贸易商联合会（CAIT）秘书长普拉文·坎德瓦尔在一份声明中警告称，新德里因抗议导致的长期中断可能使每日价值超过40亿卢比（4200万美元）的商业交易面临风险。
Added Prakash, who trades a few meters away, "Not many customers have turned up this time due to protests. Last year, this street was jam-packed with shoppers. We have invested our money in buying this stuff, but recovery seems impossible now. It's a huge loss for us." On Sunday, Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), warned in a statement that prolonged disruptions due to protests in New Delhi could put daily business transactions worth over 4 billion rupees ($42 million) at risk.
坎德瓦尔表示，经济影响不仅限于抗议现场，交通拥堵、顾客减少、营业时间缩短以及物流延误正在对首都城市相互关联的商业网络造成严重破坏。小商贩和企业是受影响最严重的群体之一，他说。
Economic consequences extend beyond protest sites, Khandelwal said, as traffic congestion, fewer shoppers, shortened business hours and logistics delays wreak havoc on the capital city's interconnected commercial network. Small traders and businesses are among the worst affected, he said.
“抗议权和贸易权，”坎德瓦尔说，“都是一个正常运作的民主制度不可或缺的组成部分。”
"The right to protest and the right to trade," Khandelwal said, "are both integral to a functioning democracy."