At the Dashaswamedh ghat
in Varanasi, Ganga jal in their hands, Swami Agnivesh, Javed
Akhtar (Muslims for Secular Democracy), Teesta Setalvad,
representatives of Aligarh Muslim University students’ union and
social activists from Varanasi vow to fight terrorism |
March 12, 2006 VARANASI: For the third day in succession, Varanasi’s
streets echoed with voices and demonstrations for peace and harmony
while sympathy was offered to the tragic victims of the bomb blasts of
March 7. A number of social organisations have staged demonstrations
condemning the March 7 blasts and on Sunday, March 12, the local unit
of the Seva Dal organised a unique march in which lyricist, Javed
Akhtar (Muslims for Secular Democracy), social activist, Swami
Agnivesh and human rights activist, Teesta Setalvad, participated.
Among the other participants were Father Valson Thampu and an active
group of the Aligarh Muslim University students’ union. An
enthusiastic band of the local Seva Dal, including Pramod Pandey, had
organised the day’s programme. |
Paying their respects at the railway union hall to mark the deaths that
took place as a result of the blasts at the railway station, the peace
activists marched from the BHU gate to Rajendra Prasad ghat. They also
visited the Sankat Mochan temple and offered their darshans there.
Culminating in an oath taken with the holy Ganga jal in hand at the
famed Rajendra Prasad ghat on the banks of the Ganges, the participants
swore to battle the forces of terror, the politics of hatred and violence
and devote their energies in this direction.
The atmosphere in Varanasi following the bomb blasts last week has been
kept calm entirely due to the tireless efforts of local residents who
refused to be drawn into a cycle of suspicion, panic, hatred and fear.
"Kashi se ham kuch dene nahin, yahan se kuch lene aaye hai… yeh
mahanagari se to insaan moksha lene aate hai (We haven’t come here to
give Kashi something, we have come to take something of Kashi away with
us… after all, it is in this great city that humans seek liberation),"
said an emotional Javed Akhtar who spoke equally vociferously against
the politics of terror, hate and fundamentalism. Lashing out at terrorists
for resorting to such crimes, Akhtar said, "Jo mujh ko zinda jala rahe
hain woh bekhabar hain ki dheere dheere meri zanjeer bhi pighal rahi hai
(Those who burn me alive are unaware that bit by bit my shackles are
melting too)."
Swami Agnivesh spoke vociferously against oppression and fear. Hafiz
Gandhi, vice-president of the AMU students union, avowed that it was the
duty of Aligarh and Benaras to stand by each other in this moment of great
tragedy and that the students of AMU would always do so.
"Benaras has shown India and the world that even at moments of tragedy
we can and must draw on our centuries-old lived experience of
inter-community negotiation and maintain peace," said Teesta Setalvad
while saluting Mahant Veer Bhadra Mishra for staunchly preventing this
tragedy from being misused for political ends. "Mahantsaheb ka hamara
pranam hai jinhone is mauke par shanti, sabr aur aman ka desh ko paigaam
diya hai (We salute the mahantsaheb for his countrywide message
of peace and tolerance at this critical time)."
(Courtesy: Sabrang Alternative News Service (SANN).)
