The Country says it Loud and Clear – Not in My Name

On a pleasant Wednesday evening, thousands of citizens came out on the streets of Delhi. June 28th saw a large number of Delhiites at Jantar Mantar, ranging from 10 year olds to 80 year olds. It was a protest against the brutal lynching of Hafiz Junaid. The 15 year old was on a Delhi-Mathura train with his brother, when he was stabbed to death by a mob; they called him “anti-national” and “beef-eater” before leaving the brothers, and two other companions, in a pool of blood.

It was a vibrant demonstration, with Dr. Sumangala Damodaran singing hope filled songs in dark times. The anger and eagerness to speak against continuous atrocities towards minorities was visible in the crowd.

Newsclick spoke to some of the people, on why they felt the need to protest;

We spoke to Faisal Mohammad, a young Muslim lawyer, who had come to express his solidarity at the protest. He said - “I am a Muslim, and this [lynching] can happen to me also. How are we supposed to be in civil services and government jobs if this is the environment? ... India is known for its diversity. If the essence of India, which is diversity, is destroyed then what remains of India?”

We also spoke to an elderly man, Satish Mishra, participating in the demonstration.
“All this (lynching) is happening because we have a government whose Prime Minister refuses to speak on the issue and his silence fuels the attacks.” - Satish

Monami Basu, a Delhi University teacher also spoke to us. She gave a direct and simple reason of being present at the protest; “If I don’t speak up, I will be complicit in the crime.”

The outrageous incidents in our country has forced everyone to come out on the streets; from Mumbai to Bangalore, to London; but have yet to awaken the government.