Not in my name: Thousands protest in Delhi, Mumbai, other cities against lynching, hate crimes

By Rons Bantwal
Bellevision Media Network

New Delhi, 28 Jun 2017: Thousands of people poured on to the streets of various cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to protest against increasing incidents of lynching and hate crimes against the minorities in India. Protesters were joined by many eminent personalities including actress Shabana Azmi, director Girish Karnad and historian Ram Chandra Guha. Protesters were seen chanting the slogans ‘Not in my name’. While Delhi residents thronged Jantar Mantar to express their anguish, Mumbai residents assembled at Carter road. The most astonishing part about the protest remains its apolitical nature where people were strictly advised not to carry any banner during the protest.

 

The protest erupted after the lynching of a 16-year-old Muslim boy Junaid Khan who was lynched in a moving train by a mob earlier last week. The investigation by the railway police suggests Junaid and his brothers were attacked after they were accused of carrying beef. One of the accused reportedly confessed he attacked Junaid after he was told they were beef eaters. The description of the protest notes, “Not In My Name is a citizens protest against the recent spate of targeted lynchings of Muslims in India – the most recent of 16-year-old Junaid, stabbed to death on a suburban train on 23 June 2017 in Delhi (NCR).”

 

 

It further alleged the attacks were part of a series involving assaults which go beyond minorities and Dalits and Adivasis were also attacked. Last year, a group of four Dalit men were flocked for performing their traditional work of skinning dead animals. The note further says, “These attacks on Muslims are part of a pattern of other incidents that involve Dalits, Adivasis, and other disadvantaged and minority groups across the country. Through all these heinous crimes the Government has maintained a brazen silence, a gesture that is being read as the acquiescence of Indians.”

 

Appealing to citizens, the organisers called on to secure the right to life and equality by the governments. The digital pamphlet said, “As citizens let’s get together and through music and poetry assert that the killings and the hatred being unleashed – Is Not In Our Name. If not now then when? Right to Life and Equality is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India. It is time we the citizens of India reclaim and protect our Constitution.”

 

The protesters also demanded a legislation to prosecute people involved in lynching with life imprisonment.