Many of us here rule the land of excuses.
We’re the people who raise our ‘voices’ and rage against injustices to mankind via social media or while hanging out with our friends. We’re the intellectuals who sit around sipping coffee, outraged at events, but passive-aggressively going on with our lives.
When the lynching of a sixteen-year-old brought the nation together, the crowd that appeared from all walks of life surprised and overjoyed many. But one picture’s doing the rounds, one of inspiring humility and peaceful resistance – that of South Indian director, Girish Karnad. Despite being the age of seventy-nine and visibly unwell – he took part in the protest. His appearance was symbolic of how the cause was not one that could be overlooked.
With his breathing gear on, a placard reading #NotInMyName, Karnad was the image of defiance at its peaceful best. The genius playwright and celebrated moviemaker’s dignified resilience is, as we millennials put it, goals. Rain or respiratory problems, nothing stopped the man. He tells News18,
You have to protest against any kind of injustice against fellow Indians. That’s all. We have a Constitution, we have law and order and it is terrible that it is happening. We know why it is happening, it is happening for political purposes. It is not for religious purposes.
He is and was during the march an image of inspiration that people of all ages, all over the country need. If this does not make us leave the comfort of ‘it did not happen to me’, then there’s very little that will.
#HumansAgainstMob
