#notinmyname protests show Power of INDIA

Sumaiya Sayyed

Pune, 30th June 2017 – This Eid was different. It had the horrible memory of a 17 year old boy lynched to death while returning from eid shopping. It was in Haryana where this incident took place but it spurred countrywide protests not only by Muslims but by people from other communities as well.

I felt helpless and hopeless at my inability to show disgust at what had happened. It kept playing at the
back of my mind amidst Eid celebrations at home and I started pondering that does my existence even
matter? Sometime back it was Pehlu Khan, yesterday it was Junaid and probably tomorrow, it might be
me or my brother.

Then I came across the Facebook campaign “#notinmyname” that was again targeted by so called “bhakts” their argument being, “Where were these people when so many from the majority community were killed”.

This media bashing of the kind of, “if you protested against ‘x’ only then you have the right to protest
against ‘y’ or else you are a pseudo-protester” was very well expressed by Pratap Bhanu Mehta in his article in The Indian Express titled “may the silent be damned”. I decided to take part in the Pune episode of the protest which had previously been successfully staged in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai few days back. I informed as many people as possible about this protest, considering this as my “jihad” ie “struggle for truth”. I knew that many such protests take place, only to be forgotten till the next innocent gets killed. But at such times I remind myself of the story of a sparrow which keeps weak people like me going in whatever little we can do rather than being mute spectators.

The story goes like this. A forest had caught fire and a crow and a sparrow were sitting on one of the
trees nearby. The crow kept sitting and watched the sparrow go to a nearby lake,fill water in its beak, fly over and drop the water on the trees that had caught fire. After observing the sparrow for a long time, the crow laughed and asked the sparrow the reason for her naive effort which seemed to be fruitless.

The sparrow replied, “jab is aag ka itihaas likha jayega,tab mera naam aag lagaane walo me nahi balki aag bujhaane walo me likha jayega!!! (When the history is written, my name would be amongst those who tried to extinguish the fire and not amongst the mute spectators)

This small story is for all of us who feel weak and hopeless at the bad times we are living in. It inspires us to keep going ,keep struggling, keep working for a better tomorrow for our kids, keep raising our voices against all the injustice ,crime and hatred.

Amongst the friends I invited were Muslims and non-Muslim alike. A non-Muslim friend called me up
and said, “I’ll b there!” Inspite of his job, he insisted that “can’t I do this much?” I am sure there were
many like him. It was a small gesture but worth noting it here. It gave me hope and it triggered a feeling that that the minorities are not alone in this fight. We are being supported by people of other faiths.

When I reached for the protest spot at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue opposite Sassoon hospital near Pune railway station, this feeling of mine was further strengthened when I saw rich and poor, old and young, specially more non-Muslims than Muslims in the crowd that had gathered to protest the killings of Muslims!. It was a feeling I cannot express but just feel. I had goosebumps and tears (of sadness, happiness, frustration, disgust and hope) all together, when I saw this crowd standing against a mighty government, standing for innocent lives, making us believe that they will be there for us! The protest culminated at Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Pune station premises, prompting all of us to remember the teachings of these two great men, both contributors to the modern day INDIA we all live in.

Junaid’s mother said, “Junaid wouldn’t have been killed if he dint wear the skull cap”, and I stood there in hijab with my other friends to protect this constitutional right of mine and others alike. I felt the power of humanity, the power of standing for what is right, the power of India!

May God grant us the ability to feel the pain of others irrespective of their faiths and backgrounds and
act in a way that shows that humanity still exists!

“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, Allah is a Better Protector to both (than you). So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you may avoid justice, and if you distort your witness or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do”-Al Quran surah nisa:135