In a unique movement, lakhs of women of different age and from different walks of life and irrespective of their financial status on Wednesday hit the streets of Bengal, more so at several points in Kolkata to register their protest against the brutal rape and murder of a young woman in the safety of her workplace, calling to “break free of the shackles on the eve of India’s 78th year of Independence.â€
Similar protests were reported from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and even foreign ports like Australia and Oslo. The protest scene was tumultuous at what they call the epicentre of agitations, Jadavpur University, with thousands converging outside the University, causing widespread traffic jams along the wide boulevards for several kilometers on end.
“Is it as though all roads lead to Jadavpur,†said Parambrata Chatterjee, a popular Bengali and Hindi film actor. Reports of similar congregations were reported from Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Raiganj, Bolpur-Shantiniketan, Bongaon, Durgapur, Purulia, Asansol, Howrah, Midnapore, Barasat, and Rajarhat New Town north of Kolkata.
A senior officer in the State police law and order department said, “Bengal has shown why it is still different … such a unique protest I have never seen in 25 years of my life. Not a thousand but several lakh, mostly women, who have emerged on the streets jettisoning pressure.†Spurred by the ‘Reclaim the Night’ campaign, which gained momentum through social media, after Rimjhim a Presidency College postgraduate student of Sociology appealed a few days ago to join her in a midnight protest at 11:55 pm on the appointed day.
“I did not think so many people would respond like this… it shows that women, particularly in India have gun powder inside them, waiting or on the verge of explosion,.â€
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday appealed to doctors to rejoin work reminding the nature of their jobs.
“Like the police the doctors too perform emergency duty and I remind them their duty … I can only appeal to their conscience as several patients are returning to their villages without getting treatment. I have learnt that few have died … I will request them to return to their work,†Banerjee said.
