 "'Not in My Name' Protests highlights: Umar Khalid reaches Jantar Mantar; Ranvir Shorey, Shabana Azmi show support in Mumbai")
Following filmmaker Saba Dewan’s Facebook post calling people to protest against the lynching of Muslim teenager Hafiz Junaid on a local train in Haryana, thousands have pledged to attend the protest marches scheduled to be held in various cities across the country on Wednesday. "Not In My Name" protest marches will be held in Delhi , Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Boston and Karachi, among others. Dewan said that the campaign reflects the anger and grief of people. The protest march in Delhi will be held from 6-8 pm at Jantar Mantar on 28 June. Junaid’s family will also be invited to join the demonstration, Dewan said. The protest in Delhi will start with the gathering offering condolences to the family of Junaid and Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer who was lynched by cattle vigilantes in Rajasthan in April, The Huffington Post reported. Initially planned as a silent protest, Dewan said that there will also be music and poetry but no speeches. ‘Not In My Name’ is a citizen protest against the recent spate of targeted lynchings of Muslims in India, reads the description of the Facebook event page. “Please carry banners with the slogan - Not in My Name. This is a citizens’ protest open to all. Everyone is welcome but without party or organisational banners,” the invite reads.
Dewan told The Huffington Post that he called it “Not In My Name” because it is a rallying cry from the anti-Vietnam war movement from the United States in the 1970s and it has been part of a public consciousness. He also said that a poster designed by Orijit Sen is being used everywhere. Event organisers told The Indian Express that they sought to question the pattern of the attacks on the minorities in the country and the silence of the government over the killings and cases of lynching of Muslims and Dalits. “I never realised the response would be so overwhelming. Despite the debilitating violence, these protests will make us feel we are alive and spark hope,” Dewan told PTI. The campaign sought to “reclaim the Constitution” and “resist the onslaught” on the right to life and equality, the Gurgaon-based documentary filmmaker said. On 24 June, Dewan had asked every citizen repulsed by the violence to gather at Jantar Mantar. He called for protests against the spate of lynchings that have taken place in different parts of the country in recent weeks.
