“Is it that easy to turn us against eachother?”- read the very first banner from the #NotInMyName peace march of Sambhal. Youngsters were seen more worried and came forward irrespective of caste and religion to protest against lynching of Muslims and Dalits. The latest cases to hit the headlines are the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu & Kashmir, Bajrang Dal volunteeers slapping the Imam of a Masjid located in Hisar (Haryana) for not chanting “Bharat Maa Ki Jai” slogan and the killing of 15-year-old Junaid Khan who was stabbed to death in Ballabgarh, Haryana by a mob that mocked his skull cap and called him a beef eater after an alleged argument over train seat escalated.
District Sambhal of Uttar Pradesh came into highlight recently for the communal hype that was busted within few days and the main culprits were taken into custody by UP Police. #NotInMyName peaceful protest once again brought together the love between people amid the differences of caste and religion.
“I was at first doubtful for this peaceful protest, but people came in and we gathered support” said a 12th standard student who came in to show his respect for the protest.
The protest started from Nagar Palika Sambhal and ended at the SDM court where a memorandum was handed to the SDM who was happy to see an spontaneous reaction of people coming together and condemning the heinous acts of violence. People gathered together and expressed gratitude for each other ending the march peacefully.
Filmmaker Saba Dewan is the goldsmith who gave this creative slogan #NotinMyName protest originally planned to be held at Jantar Mantar in the heart of New Delhi and took no time to become the rallying cry. All those who are being targated on the basis Gau Raksha, beef, and religion, Civil Rights etc in India came under these eleven alphabets to show their love and solidarity. The protests are being held all over India peacefully and gathering a world-wide support of journalists, artists, historians, film makers and various secular parties.
