#NotInMyName:'Protest against hatred, not any community’

By : Sudha Pachauri
MUMBAI: Amid protest against the mob lynchings, including that of a 19-year-old Muslim youth on a train last week, hundreds of Mumbaikars gathered and showed their solidarity at Carter Road promenade in Bandra on Wednesday braving heavy rains.
While actor Mohommed Ali Shah led the protests in Mumbai, social activist Saira Shah Halim led the protests in Kolkata.Former Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor Lt Gen (retired) Zameer Uddin Shah has supported the movement.
Mohommed Ali Shah, told TOI, "I wanted to protest and support people. We are here today to protest against the lynching and brutal killings in the name of religion. Personally, I was protesting the killings in the name of religion, be it lynching of the minority community or in general. 'Not in my name' for me has a larger meaning. I even condemn and protest the killings which ISIS has been doing in the name of religion. The ISIS is not an Islamic group, but is a mere terrorists’ group and terror doesn't have any religion. I am proud to say that along with my fellow Mumbaikars, we managed to garner a lot of support. Despite heavy rains in Mumbai, people turned up in large numbers and chose to protest against the killing and lynching of their innocent fellow citizens. I view it as a protest against hatred and brutal killings of our brothers and sisters.”
In a statement issued on Friday, Zameer Uddin Shah, Former Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor, stated that it is heartening to “see the majority community lending support to the minority brothers”. I had been watching these developments with concern for quite some time, but had not reacted as I was in “government service”. “I have purposely written my full name, because in the army I am universally known as Gen "Zoom" Shah. Nobody talked of my religion. It was private business between me and my maker. We are a 'salad bowl' nation. I refer to India as a salad bowl, because the minorities are integrated in it just like the constituents of a salad but not assimilated. In the salad, you can still identify the carrot from the peas and cucumber. Similarly, the minorities take pride in retaining their distinct religion, ethnicity, language and, very important, love for their country. It is time for the government to speak out against these atrocities and nip the evil in the bud. They should not allow it to spin out of control.” The General is a veteran of the 1971 Longewala battle and multiple insugencies afflicting our country.
Saira Shah Halim led the protests in Kolkata where thousands of people turned up to support the cause. She said, "Today, I stand proud of our majority community and above all our entire country. We stand together to show the world that the heinous crimes being committed in our names don't represent us. There are rotten apples everywhere. We are not the mob lynchers who commit communal violence in our names. Don't tag us. We are one and therefore incidents like these and all others that involve killing, rapes or lynching should be condemned and dealt with sternly no matter which community does it. This is not a fight about one community versus the other, but a fight to kill hate. We are'Humanity'#NotInMyName".