Citizens gathered in 19 Indian cities to protest what they saw as the Government's inaction and apathy over the increasing number of lynchings perpetrated in the name of cow protection. The protests were sparked by the lynching of 15-year-old teenager Junaid Khan on a train in Faridabad. Junaid and his relatives were beaten up by a mob over what seemed to have begun as an argument over a seat and ended in the four Muslim youngsters being called beef eaters and thrashed, resulting in Junaid's death.
Social media was abuzz with shock about the lynching, following which a clarion call was issued by Gurgaon-based filmmaker Saba Dewan asking people to gather at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for a protest against the targeting of mostly minorities, namely Muslims and Dalits, by self-appointed cow vigilantes. That grew into a nation-wide protest through the power of social media. People converged in various cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Allahabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Here are glimpses from the protests as they happened across the cities.
Instant tweets from campaigners going viral on Twitter.
हम देखेंगे
— Dhiru rautela (@dhiru_rautela) June 28, 2017
लाज़िम है कि हम भी देखेंगे
वो दिन कि जिस का वादा है
जो लौह-ए-अज़ल में लिख्खा है #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/sXBaHSRtDe
Every act of violence that you tolerate without protest, brings it a step closer to your doorstep
— Abrar Sayyad (@AbrarSayyad) June 28, 2017
Come be a part
June 29 @Pune#NotInMyName
TWITTERATI:
Ramachandra Guha tweets:
At the #NotInMyName citizens rally in my home town. This poster says it best. pic.twitter.com/6ZKgcdIHKS
— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) June 28, 2017
BENGALURU:
Reports come in that police are asking protesters to disperse.
#NotInMyName Bangalore pic.twitter.com/2hbDUtlnny
— Parth Gandhi گاندھی (@iPGandhi) June 28, 2017
NEW DELHI:
Pehlu Khan was killed by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district on April 1.
Family and relatives of Pehlu Khan and Junaid at Jantar Mantar #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/5vArz7Qvj5
— Ashish (@AshishXL) June 28, 2017
HARYANA:
Father of Junaid Khan, the fifteen year-old who was killed in a train, told CNN News 18 in an interview, "We are very thankful that you people are doing this for my son".
Good to see people out for an important cause. #NotInMyName pic.twitter.com/fQQ9GsJ74x
— Jrao (@KVJayantRao) June 28, 2017
Nobody killed Junaid. Not a single eye witness comes forward to tell police who & how the 16yo was killed. Shame on Indians. #NotInMyName
— Sasidharan Pazhoor (@inquestioner) June 28, 2017
Systematic campaign of hate afoot in India. Citizens of India, speak up, fight the bigots! #NotInMyName 6pm Jantar Mantar Delhi.
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) June 28, 2017
NEW DELHI:
LUCKNOW:
"If we didn't say anything today we just be egging these incidents on," said a history student at Delhi University.
NEW DELHI:
Participants claim unlike in Bengaluru, where a silent protest is going on, the Delhi chapter has music and slogans with people wearing Not in My Name 'vests' made out of paper
BENGALURU:
"I have been waiting for something like this to come up because this can't go on," said a young participant to NDTV.