Text and photos by Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
The Yuva Hunkar rally, which took place in Delhi today, saw a sizeable participation from people from all walks of life, even though the crowd was not nearly as big as what had been projected. Some of this could be attributed to the fact that the Delhi Police made it clear that they had not given permission for the rally. This coupled with the fact around 1,500 security personnel in riot gear, with tear gas launchers and water cannons, were deployed on Parliament Street, meant that the crowd was small. However, the people who participated had come from all parts of the country and had their own reasons for joining the protest. However, the main reason clearly was to show their support to jailed Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar. As many as 42 organisations took part in the protest which lasted over four hours. We spoke to six people and asked them why they were here: Below are the excerpts:
Ever since the BJP was elected at the Centre in 2014 and in UP in 2017, they have consistently indulged in fascist tendencies. As a member of Naujawan Bharat Sabha, we follow the ideas of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and under no circumstances will we let fascist ideologies take over. This is not a fight between BJP and non-BJP, it is a fight between all those who stand for peace and those who speak against it. This is not what Bhagat Singh wanted, and this is not what we will let happen.
I am here because I want to show my support for Chandrashekhar. He dared to raise his voice for our (Dalit) community and he is declared a threat to national security? How? All he did was provide us with a voice. And yes, I believe that it is important to protest here in Delhi. We have done many protests in Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar but national media does not pay any attention. This is an attempt to show them that our voices cannot be ignored. This protest gives us a platform and I hope something positive comes out of it.
I am here because I have lost hope from both the central and the state government. The way they have attacked Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis shows that their government believes in hatred as a fundamental principle. I am here along with other people because I believe there are still people who believe that all of us can coexist peacefully. In UP, the way they have treated Chandrashekhar of Bhim Army only shows their contempt for anyone from marginalised communities who dares to speak up. This rally is hopefully a start of challenging the government, and I want to be a part of that.
As a follower of Buddhism and Babasaheb Ambedkar, I am aghast at what has been happening with the Dalits of this country. I am here to show my support to Chandrashekhar and Bhim Army. If they think they can kill the movement, they are wrong. We will rise every time they strike us down…that is what Babasaheb taught us and this rally is an attempt to show our strength.
I am here because the need of the hour is to talk about issues on the ground which affect all of us. The issues of youth should be put on the table and this rally is an earnest attempt to do so. We also need to connect more with people. Some people are saying that the crowd is not as big as expected, but that shouldn’t disappoint us. We should make more efforts to go beyond such shallow rhetoric and focus on what we have.
I am here because such rallies are the need of the hour. Yes, the crowd is not big as expected, but that should not leave us disheartened. It is an attempt to focus on youth-centric issues which are being ignored in the country. I must, however, add that such rallies should take place between people who are suffering directly because of these issues…but at least this is a start.