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#NotInMyName: Society comes together across India to protest against killing in the name of the cow

Citizens gathered in various 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
A photo of 16-year-old Junaid Khan who was lynched on a train, moments before his death, shared on social media
A photo of 16-year-old Junaid Khan who was lynched on a train, moments before his death, shared on social media
TNIE online desk

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.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

"India is the land of diversity. Dalits and Muslims also belong to this country," a teen with a white headband and anti-lynching poster tells the media.

Instant tweets from campaigners going viral on Twitter. 

PUNE

A Twitter user puts out a call for a similar demonstration in Pune tomorrow

HYDERABAD

Protesters in Hyderabad used black armbands along with posters, banners and placards.

BENGALURU

Protests in the city are almost over. People who are left are waiting for their cabs.

CHANDIGARH

"We are not here to discuss politics. We are humans first, then we are Indians, then only Hindus or Muslims," an agitator tells a TV channel.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Upon the campaign slowly losing its participants, Joe, a student said, "If not now, the people of this country will realise the importance of movements like these. It is only a matter of time now. I am not scared to do my part even if I am the last campaigner here today."

NEW DELHI

Chinna, a singer, alleges that the government is facilitating lynchers to get away with murder of people like the teenager Junaid.

HARYANA

An ex-pilot told Junaid's father, "As a citizen of India I am very shameful that we couldn't keep your son safe. We are very sorry. And we promise that we will stand up against such violence that has been brewing in this country in the past few years."

#NotInMyName

The protests are currently taking place in 19 places throughout the country.

TWITTERATI:
Ramachandra Guha tweets:

HYDERABAD:Police trying to snatch a poster from a protester. | Sayantan Ghosh (Express Photo Service)
KOLKATA: "Efforts to reach out to the commoners of the country should start from individual level. Caste and religious differences should be cast aside for the greater cause," said a homemaker to the media.
LONDON: Protesters gather at short notice in London to express solidarity with the movement in India.

BENGALURU:

Reports come in that police are asking protesters to disperse.

BENGALURU: Playwright Girish Karnad joins the campaign as police try to clear off the protesters.
MUMBAI: Campaigners must disperse by 7:00 PM when their permitted time for the public gathering ends.

NEW DELHI:
Pehlu Khan was killed by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan's Alwar district on April 1.

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". 

 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
"The secular fabric of this country cannot be altered. If anyone out there wishes to do so, a strong message should be sent to them. The people of this country will unite against such moves and this movement prove it," said a woman, one among many female volunteers distributing anti-communal placards to the participants.  
BENGALURU:In Bengaluru, people take part in a silent protest against the lynchings around the country. The protest is a part of NotInMyName campaign that is happening in different parts of the country. | Pushkar V

KOCHI

NEW DELHI

"What I really like about this is that it is a citizen's protest not under any political umbrella," said a youngster holding a poster saying "Stop Islamophobia".

NEW DELHI

"What I really like about this is that it is a citizen's protest not under any political umbrella," said a youngster holding a poster saying "Stop Islamophobia".

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

"Minority are suffering in the country, there is no equality," said Mitra, an elderly woman who is a translator by profession.

CHANDIGARH

"I am a senior citizen and a mother. I would like to see which mother would allow this kind of incidents. If we keep accepting these kind of things, where are we heading?", asked an elderly woman holding a blue umbrella.

KOCHI

TWITTERATI

TWITTERATI

CHANDIGARH

"Muslims don't need to prove we belong here. We are also part of this nation and deserve to live here peacefully," said a protester in white clothes.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The city witness campus songs like "We shall resist, We shall overcome" been taken into the streets.

MUMBAI

Citizens from all works of life seen with umbrellas, drenched , rallying out cries of Not In My Name.

MUMBAI

Heavy showers in the city don't deter Mumbaikars from attending the mass event. Several people are seen holding umbrellas and protesting under the pouring rain.

 NEW DELHI

NEW DELHI:

"The lynchings are not random events, these are driven by an ideology," said an elderly man. 

LUCKNOW:

"If we didn't say anything today we just be egging these incidents on," said a history student at Delhi University.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

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.

BENGALURU

Eminent historian and researcher Ramachanda Guha seen at the protest holding #NotInMyName banner.

Junaid Khan
cow vigilantes
Jharkhand lynching
Not In My Name
Gau Rakshak

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The New Indian Express
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