Decorating one’s hands with mehendi is a norm during Eid. But this Eid, mehendi has become a form of protest in Kerala. Students from two prominent colleges, Farook College in Kozhikode and MES College in Mampad, are using mehendi to protest the recent happenings in India.

“Where is Najeeb, a mother is still crying,” reads a number of mehendi-adorned hands of students, a reference to the still-missing JNU student, Najeeb Ahmed, who has been missing since October 2016.

Students have used mehendi to protest the blinding caused by pellet guns in Kashmir, the ban on the film Fallen Chinar, the recent Qatar-GCC rift, the plight of Rohingya and Syrian refugees and the recent encounter in Bhopal that killed eight people.

Mehendi contests during Eid are also a common practice in Kerala campuses. “This time, we all wanted to do something different on Eid as our minds are disturbed with the terrible things that are happening in India. That is how the idea popped up into our heads,” said Mahira M, a third-year student in MES college and a member of the Fraternity Movement, a student organisation which spearheaded the Mehendi Fest protest.

The protest was held on Friday, the last day of college before it closed for Eid, and it wasn’t well planned. Despite various other programmes happening on campus, around 30 students participated in the protest, Mahira said.

Students in Farook College also organised a mehendi protest on the same day. Students were already bored with the typical mehendi contest. “The moment we got to know about the unique protest by MES college students, there was no second thought in our minds and the discussion was mostly about Junaid, Najeeb and Kashmir,” said Thashreef KP, a third-year student in Farook college.

On Friday night, before leaving for home to celebrate Eid, students came together to decorate their hands with mehendi. “We wanted to remind everyone, that these issues should remain in our hearts and hands, that is why we decided to do this,” said Aysha, a third-year student. “This Eid for us is not a celebration, it is a protest hence we decided to show that on our henna-red hands,” said Safa P.

While putting mehendi on their hands, students held placards demanding action against Najeeb’s assaulters.

The mehendi protest was also aimed at breaking another stereotype–that it was solely “girls’ business”. “Though we haven’t filled our hands as much as girls do, we have also applied mehendi,” said Ameen M, a student from MES college.

Another aspect of this protest was the temporary eradication of party lines. Student parties including Students Federation of India, Muslim Students’ Federation and Kerala Students’ Union, which have a strong presence in these two campuses, attended the fest. “Yet, students from other political parties came and took part in the protest as well,” said Thashreef.

“I don’t belong to any particular political organisation. When I saw these students holding mehendi protest, I was impressed with the variety in their method of remembering Najeeb, which was another reason to be a part of this protest,” said Shamil Umar, a third-year BBA student in MES college.

The mehendi protest is now a viral form of celebration in Kerala, where these students have started a new form of protest this Eid.