As if dismissing charges that they are largely apathetic to political and social causes, young people turned out in large numbers at the Jan Lokpal Bill rally at Azad Maidan on Tuesday.
As if dismissing charges that they are largely apathetic to political and social causes, young people turned out in large numbers at the Jan Lokpal Bill rally at Azad Maidan on Tuesday. And they had hundreds of professionals and celebrities for company.
As word spread through mass SMSes, blogs and tweets, more and more people joined the protest. Wearing banners that said ‘Please arrest me’, they climbed into police vans that took away the protestors.
Priya Mishra, an event management student from NM College in Vile Parle said she was planning to get arrested. “The government has to pass the bill,” she said.
Apurva Mahajan, a management student from SIES College, said she was surprised to find many friends among the agitators. “All of them are part of the campaign for the bill,” she said. “I am here because this campaign is a great opportunity for the youth to do something for their country.”
Many youngsters had taken a day off from their jobs to participate in the protests. Akshay Dedhia, 24, of Vile Parle is an assistant sales manager; he chose to stay off work and join the protesters at Azad Maidan. “I have never seen anybody as dedicated to a public cause as Anna Hazare,” he said. “I strongly feel that once the Jan Lokpal Bill is implemented, it will impact corruption. There will be more transparency in government functioning.”
He said he was not surprised by the huge presence of youngsters at the rally. “Today, youngsters want something more substantial than mere promises.”
Actor Purab Kohli said people were spreading some love Gandhian style by raising their voice against Anna Hazare’s arrest. He urged fellow citizens via Twitter to join him and other protesters at Azad Maidan.
Model-turned-actor Milind Soman too urged Mumbaikars to raise their voice against the “undemocratic” move. “Stand up and fight corruption in the best way you know, but fight,” he said.
Among those who addressed the protesters was social activist Medha Patkar. “Whichever police station you are taken to, please clean that place of corruption and then come back,” she told the crowd before leaving for New Delhi.
Later, those gathered took an oath to rid the country of corruption. The few thousand protesters who gathered at Azad Maidan blocked the left flank of Mahapalika Marg, bringing traffic to a stop for a few hours. The police picked them up and later released them in various parts of the city.
Several protesters were detained inside a ground behind the Esplanade Court. Sanchita Pawar, a student from St Xavier’s College, was picked up from Azad Maidan and taken to the Naigaum police ground in Parel where around 500 protestors were held. “The police told us that the two jails in the city are full and there is no place to keep the protesters,” she said.
(With Shabana Ansari’s inputs)
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