We had expressed
disappointment here yesterday as election results and cricket seemed to have
diverted the attention from the burning issue of our society—the subhuman
fiendish progression. The ‘human’ beings of India have come back today attacking the evil in all
fury. Protests and demonstrations broke out almost everywhere—from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Assam in the
east. Busy as ever Mumbai too expressed its anger yesterday in spite of
elections and cricket.
In Delhi, the venue of the
heinous crime, demonstrations were held in various places as thousands of
people took to the streets. In Raisina
Hill (the campus where the President of India lives), in front of the house of
the Congress President, in Safdarjung Hospital where the gangrape victim is
still battling for life in the ICU, in the India Gate surroundings and so on.
Protests ranged from angry outbursts and sloganeering to candle light
processions.
Tomorrow the
second and last T20 International cricket match between India and England is scheduled at Wankhede
stadium in Mumbai, but the city is not getting carried away by the lure of
instant cricket fun. Mumbai is set to witness several demonstrations tomorrow from
the symbolic fury to candle light protests. Common people and celebrities of the
city have joined together demanding fast tracked punishment to the rapists and
prevention of crimes against women. There had been strong echoes on the floor
of both the houses of the Maharashtra Assembly during the winter session in Nagpur that concluded
today. Increasing crimes against women in recent times have threatened to dent
Mumbai’s reputation as the safest city for women in India. Mumbai must remain so always
at all costs. Other places of the country including Delhi in particular must earn this reputation
too at all costs. It is now or never. We must keep up the momentum. Put in all your might to finish off those cowardly brutes and perverts.
