BENGALURU: Vegan India Movement (VIM), a pan-India collective of animal rights activists, organised a march in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata on November 10 to commemorate ‘world vegan month’. The event was organised by Bengaluru Brigade for Animal Liberation, at Madhavan Park, Jayanagar.
"Veganism is not a diet choice but a social justice movement that says animals should not be treated as commodities," Amrit Jayaswal, one of the organisers, said. Over 200 people took out the march in Bengaluru. "This reiterates that veganism is not a passing trend," Sunil S, another participant, said.
One of the major objectives of the event was to put forth a set of demands to the government, including revamping the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to make it stricter, and promoting growth of plant-based products through tax cuts and subsidies to producers. “We plan to follow through with these demands even after the march,” said Dhivakar, another organiser.
Bengaluru Brigade for Animal Liberation also conducts street campaigns every week, and engages in other forms of activism like painting walls with animal rights messages, giving lectures on veganism in schools and colleges, conducting street plays, and so on. "We found that majority of the people we interact with to talk about veganism and animal rights are very receptive to the message," said Nayan, a VIM activist.