Skip to main content

#NotInMyName protest in posh Ahmedabad area amidst chants of "Zinda hai to halla bol", "Le ke rahenge azadi"

Ten days after “Not in my name” protests commenced in top Indian cities of India, Ahmedabad’s posh Satellite area saw a few hundred people – mostly activists and intellectuals – come together on Saturday to "demonstrate in solidarity" against frequent incidents of lynching across the country.
Held between 3 and 6 pm after the Gujarat police “allowed” the demonstration a day earlier, those who participated amidst chants of “Zinda hai to halla bol” and “Le ke rahenge azadi” by a young radical group included veteran High Court advocate Girish Patel, former BJP chief minister Suresh Mehta, senior sociologist Ghanshyam Shah, ex-National Institute of Design director Ashok Chatterjee, top Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan, among others.
While on June 28, “Not in my name” protests were held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Patna, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Gaya, Faridabad, Mumbai, Allahabad and other locations, these were followed by protests in Pune on June 29, and Chennai on July 1.
Ahmedabad protests were held amidst news coming in from Delhi that a mob assaulted six men who were transporting buffaloes to a slaughter house in east Delhi. One of the victims sustained serious injuries while the remaining five were released after receiving medical aid. The police arrived at the scene after the attackers escaped.
In their complaint, the victims said they were transporting around 80 buffaloes in mini-trucks when the mob stopped them near Baba Haridas Nagar. The mob beat the six men inside the trucks after releasing the cattle. The transporters claim to have had the required documents to ferry the animals.
Protesters in Ahmedabad complained, the BJP has been encouraging cow-related violence. Citizens across the country staged protests against the lynchings and targeted violence, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence that the “killings in the name of cow worship is not acceptable.
The view was strong, the simmering anger against the incidents of violence against Muslims and Dalits boiled over across India, when a Facebook post from a filmmaker about Junaid Khan’s “unseen” public lynching became a rallying point for a spontaneous citizens’ protest that spread across cities in India on June 28.
The police permission to hold the protest, which was received on Friday afternoon, interestingly, did not allow any loudspeaker to be used by speakers. The permission was sought by Gujarat Jan Andolan, an apex body of human rights organizations of the state.
The biggest protest in India was held on July 3, when thousands walked from Kotwal Udyan to Chaityabhoomi in Dadar West, with many citizens, organisations, and Dalit and left political parties coming together under one banner of “Nafrat Ke Khilaf, Insaniyat Ki Awaaz.” The march began and ended with poetry recitation and songs.
One saw leaders like Prakash Ambedkar, artists like Dan Husain and writers like Rahman Abbas and Dorab Farooqui. Film-maker and activist Anand Patwardhan, film-maker Dibakar Banerji, photographer Chirodeep Chawdhary, feminist activists Hasina Khan, Chayanika Shah and Nandita Shah were also present, actor Shabana Azmi, among others.

Comments

TRENDING

Policy Bazaar seems to think, not Right to Education but insurance ensures a kid's school admission

While frequent advertisements on TV are extremely jarring, I was a little amused while watching a Policy Bazaar-sponsored advertisement. The advisement by one of India's most well-known online insurance brokers sees a woman asking a kid entering the house why he hasn't been to school. The kid enters in with a bag full of vegetables in his hand which he presumably bought in the market at a time he should have been in the school.

Has Gujarat missed the Artificial Intelligence bus like it missed the IT bus in 1990s?

Has Gujarat missed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) bus as it did the Information Technology (IT) bus in the 1990s despite claiming to be an industrial powerhouse sought to be promoted by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi? It would seem so if the latest study by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) "Labour-force Perception about AI: A Study on Indian White-collar Workers" is any indication.

Addressing caste discrimination in US higher education: Rutgers report sparks controversy

In a surprise move, an American university has published a "controversial" report titled "Caste-Based Discrimination in US Higher Education and at Rutgers". The report has sparked debate, as no sooner was it released than an Indian diaspora advocacy group, CasteFiles, filed a complaint against Rutgers University and Prof. Audrey Truschke, co-chair of the task force that prepared the report. The complaint, filed under Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleges violations of the right to education free from harassment and discrimination.

Majority white collar workers fear job loss as AI grows at CAGR of 25-35% in India

An Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) study, "Labour-force Perception about AI: A Study on Indian White-collar Workers", has revealed that as many as 60% of white collar workers fear job loss as a result of artificial intelligence (IA) being introduced in Indian industry, while only 53% "hope" that new jobs will be created.

Modi govt distancing from Adanis? MoEFCC 'defers' 1500 MW project in Western Ghats

Is the Narendra Modi government, in its third but  what would appear to be a weaker avatar, seeking to show that it would keep a distance, albeit temporarily, from its most favorite business house, the Adanis? It would seem so if the latest move of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) latest to "defer" the Adani Energy’s application for 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pump Storage Project is any indication. Quoting the September 27 MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) meeting,  released on October 2, a senior scholar-activist of the top environmental advocacy group South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has  reported  that in a "respite" to forest dwelling communities, fragile biodiversity and community conservation areas, the EAC has "rejected" the Adani application for project. However, the window for continuing with the controversial project hasn't been entirely closed. To quote Parineeta Dandekar, the ...

NHRC failing to 'effectively address' human rights violations: NGO groups tell UN-linked body

In a joint submission to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions' (GANHRI's) Sub Committee on Accreditation (SCA), two civil society groups -- All India Network of NGOs and Individuals working with National and State Human Rights Institutions (AiNNI) and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) --  have said that the  National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC's) accreditation, deferred in  2016, 2023, and 2024, fails to find space on its website. In their submission to the top global body which coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the United Nations human rights system, AiNNI and ANNI said, the accreditation status of NHRC "has not been updated" since 2017, and as of September 21, 2024, the "website falsely states that the NHRC has retained its 'A' accreditation status from SCA for four consecutive five-year terms." They added, such omission diminishes "civil society's trust" in N...

Two persons with old typewriters off SLC's fashionable street, writing poems on postcards!

A few days back, after taking a round of beautiful hills surrounding Salt Lake City (SLC), we drove down to a popular, somewhat fashionable spot -- Harvey Milk Blvd -- not very far from the Down Town. We visited a few shops, where mainly souvenirs were being sold, and also a few sex toys! Finally, we visited an ice cream parlour, where we tasted Italian ice cream. It is a well decorated parlour, with different coloured lovely goodies  hanging across the restaurant. I took a lemon flavoured ice cream -- really liked it. The parlour is called Dolcetti Gelato. Thereafter, while returning to take the car, we found two persons sitting on outdoor chairs, with old manual typewriters on makeshift tables. They were typing out exactly the same way I used to in 1980s to do my stories before faxing them from Moscow to Patriot office in Delhi.