People protest against Govind Pansare killing with morning walks; use #ShootMeIfYouCan

The murder of activist Govind Pansare has not gone unheeded in a state once known for its progressiveness. Even as political parties offer obituaries, condemnation and explanations, some people have decided to actively protest against such incidents.

People from Ulhasnagar near Mumbai undertook morning strolls to protest against the recent killings of activists in Maharashtra. Before Pansare, anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar had been gunned down in Pune last year.

Using the hash tag #ShootMeIfYouCan and #morningwalk, the protestors under the umbrella of 'Nav Vichar Andolan' sought to create awareness against increasing incidents of violence against activists. The rationale behind the morning protest and the #morningwalk was that both Pansare and Dabholkar were killed in the morning.

The protesters also called upon people from other places to join in the morning stroll.

Messages calling upon people to join in a morning stroll on Saturday were sent out at large to the public. The messages read:

'Do not fear those who threaten you with death. They were unable to overcome Mahatma Gandhi, Narendra Dabholkar or Govind Pansare. Let's go for a morning walk. As you walk, upload your photos on social media. Use twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp and even change your profile pictures. Get #shootmeifyoucan and #morningwalk to trend on Twitter so people wonder what is going on and are awakened to the cause.'

Calling the protest the 'dawn of change', the protestors called upon people to write and discuss about the murders of Pansare and Dabholkar. 'We will answer bullets with words' said the volunteers.

The protestors even dedicated a poem to those who had been killed, to inspire people to protest:

They came for Gandhi, and shot him dead
But I stayed silent
Because I was not a Gandhian

Then they came for Dr Datta Samant, and killed him too
But I stayed silent
Because I was not a mill worker

Last year they came for Dr Narendra Dabholkar
Yet I stayed silent
Because I was not an anti-superstition activist either.

Now they came for Comrade Pansare
And killed him as well
But I still stayed silent
Because I was not a Communist

Tomorrow they will come for me, and attack me
But when I look around for help
There will be no one left to save me.

Dr Govind Pansare died in a Mumbai hospital on Saturday morning. In an uncanny resemblance with the attack on Dabholkar, Pansare, who was regarded as among the state's foremost public intellectuals, and wife Usha, who was also injured but is out of danger, were leaving for a morning walk when they were shot. After spending a few days in a hospital in Kolhapur, Pansare was shifted to Mumbai but died soon after.

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