Mumbaikars to join countrywide march to protest cow vigilantism

MUMBAI: In a spontaneous expression of protest, a motley mix of Mumbaikars from different walks of life and beyond the usual realm of activist groups are coming together at Carter Road promenade today (June 28) between 5pm and 7pm to condemn the recent spate of beef related lynchings in several pockets around the country.

The protest on Wednesday is an extension of an online campaign titled ‘Not In My Name’ started by a Delhi-based docu-filmmaker Saba Dewan in reaction to the killing of Junaid Khan last week after the 15-year-old returning from the capital after Eid shopping was singled out as a “beef-eater” and stabbed to death by co-passengers on a Mathura-bound train from Delhi. The mob also knifed two of his brothers, a cousin and a friend.

The citizens’ protest meant to “reclaim and protect people’s fundamental rights enshrined in the country’s Constitution” has invoked simultaneous marches across the country – Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh, Chennai and Trivandrum – where thousands have pledged to hit the streets on June 28.

In Mumbai, a clutch of artistes, writers, musicians, homemakers and educators steering the chapter on Wednesday – ‘Killing Humanity #NotInMyName’ – feel that it was time for the middle class to step up and break their silence on what is turning out to be a direct assault on humankind in the name of religion.

“People like us are angry and tired of this continued violence against minorities and this is a time when the silent majority needs to be heard louder than the noise,” said Arpita Chatterjee, a scriptwriter who along with her friends have tried to get Mumbai to play its part. “I put up a random post on social media calling people to gather, which would have fizzled out, had so many people not echoed similar discontent simmering within them.”

While

Sreemoyee Bhattacharya

, 31 from Versova feels that mob fury over beef eating is a “mental disease” that needs to be contained with large-scale awareness, a street march is the least yet most powerful thing that the masses can do, says

Daipayan Banerjee

a film producer from Bandra who will be joining the protest with his voice of dissent. “Of late, helpless people are being targeted and this goes against the grain of our country. If my being there draws attention and helps mitigate the insecurity that many of my friends are feeling, I’m all for it.”

The demonstration on Wednesday, they claim, is not meant to be coercive in nature. Instead, the protesters hope to assert themselves through songs, poetry, writings on posters and by simply being there in the open to declare that the hatred being unleashed is “not in our name”.

Actor Ranvir Shorey who promised to join the gathering, said "I will be there to show solidarity with people protesting and to seek a response from the government which needs to be responsible and address this kind of lawlessness. This is not about a particular political party so why are they downplaying it? I'm not a part of the anti-Modi brigade but this cannot be let pass in the guise of other good things they maybe doing. Such incidents cannot become an ordinary part of our lives."