On June 26, a protest was held at Jantar Mantar demanding justice for Tabrez Ansari, whose death has ignited conversations pointing towards the grim status of humanitarian considerations in India. 

Tabrez Ansari was killed by a mob in Dhatkidih village in Seraikela district, Jharkhand. The mob alleged that he had stolen a motorcycle. A viral video shot on June 18 shows Ansari tied to a tree and being beaten by about five men. In the video, Ansari is repeatedly asked his name and is asked to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Hanuman”, and he complies. Ansari was later handed over to the police by those who thrashed him, and he was remanded to judicial custody. However, he died from his injuries in Sadar Hospital on June 22.  

Eleven people have been arrested so far in connection with Ansari’s death. Two police officers were suspended for “lapses” and for not filing a report immediately, and the doctor who treated Ansari is also under probe. 

June 26’s protest was organised by United Against Hate which is, in their own words, an organisation “of common people who are urban and rural, spiritual and secular, seeking equal protection for all, united against hate, bigotry and racism”. It was attended by about 500 people, including prominent faces like Umar Khalid, Kanhaiyya Kumar, Kavita Krishnan, JNU student body president N Sai Balaji and Delhi University professor Apoorvanand. The protest started with slogans criticising the government, questioning its silence over the lynching.  

A section of the crowd and their posters.

Addressing the gathering, Kavita Krishnan said, “The first Parliament session saw a lot of chanting which, according to many, has set a precedence of such incidents happening outside Parliament as well.” Krishnan was referring to chants of “Jai Shri Ram” ringing out in Parliament when All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi took oath. She said, “When Mr Owaisi stood up, it was not [people] expressing love for Ram. It was telling him his place, that this Parliament belongs to Ram.”

Umar Khalid said, “We’re not doing any favours to any community by gathering here. The situation has come to a point where if we don’t stand up, the next [person who will be lynched] can be us. We have come for ourselves.”

He continued, “Citizens are doing what the Opposition should be doing: they should be out on the streets, constantly challenging these kinds of ideologies. But it seems as if big Opposition parties have outsourced it to people like us. For example, when Jayant Sinha garlanded those accused of lynching, the Congress and others didn’t make a big issue of it. The BJP and Sangh Parivar know they’re not going to face any opposition. The mainstream media think they’re fringe outfits, and that’s the reason they are being protected and this is continuing.”

Professor Apoorvanand referred to PM Modi condemning Ansari’s death even as the prime minister said no one has the “right to insult” Jharkhand by calling it a “hub of lynching”. In response, Apoorvanand called Modi a “Jahapanah”. “This is not a matter of the state, but of the people who live under constant fear.” 

Apoorvanand said the issue is citizens living under ‘constant fear’.

Standing in the crowd which predominantly comprised college students was Julaisa Khatun, a “regular citizen”, as she calls herself, who attended with her family. “I got the news that this is taking place. I thought, ‘enough of sitting at home’ and brought my family along with me,” she explained. Smiling nervously, she said, “There’s a constant state of fear: what if this happens to me or my kids? I can’t sit and wait for that to happen.”

Swati, a student of Faculty of Law, Delhi University, was also in the crowd, bearing a poster that said: “I am a Hindu and I love Muslims. Muslims are my brothers, sisters and spouses. You killed our Tabrez. We are all Tabrez. Your hate is too small in a country of us all.” Swati believes these protests pressure the Opposition to speak out. “When we create pressure and make the Opposition speak in Parliament, we force channels like Republic and Times Now to cover it,” she said. “And the people who are watching these channels will get to know that something is happening … people will then realise there’s something bad with the governing party. The Opposition should be outspoken. Why are they silent?”

Ansari’s wife Shaista Parveen did not attend the event—organisers said it was short notice—but an attempt was made to get her to address the crowd over the phone. Her voice was inaudible and the attempt was abandoned, but an organiser told the gathering that all she wants is justice for her husband.   

The crowd’s anger and frustration was palpable: against the BJP, against the Opposition and against the media. There were several posters accusing the media of being partisan and not covering the whole issue. As Apoorvanand said, “There is unemployment, water scarcity, children dying in Bihar, and all the media wants to do is conduct debates pitting Hindus against Muslims.” Kavita Krishnan concurred, saying she thought the state of the media is worse today than the government-controlled Doordarshan. “At least Doordarshan never spewed hatred. The media now has become outrightly propagandist.”

Umar Khalid addressing the crowd.

A common thread in the speeches was comparing those standing with the Muslim community in India to how support is garnered in countries like New Zealand and the US. Apoorvanand said, “Hindustan must say they’re standing with Muslims of their country.” 

This thread was picked up by Ahmed Bashir, a former professor of comparative studies in religion at Aligarh Muslim University, who said, “Hinduism as a religion is not a violent one. What is happening now can’t be Hinduism [in that case].” Umar Khalid then said India’s legacy is that of “Ashfaqulla Khan, Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar, not of Savarkar”. The crowd broke into loud cheers and applause.

There were contrasting opinions on whether the current mandate shows that India believes it must be a majoritarian country, or that it feels minorities must be treated in a particular way. Khalid said, “We are moving in that direction and situations might become worse. But if there is a bunch of people out there killing, there are a bunch of them protesting—and of all faiths. And that is what is important.” Meanwhile, Krishnan doesn’t think people should lose hope. “That’s what the RSS wants, for us to believe that India is a majoritarian state, and we will not let that happen.”

The event ended with protestors lighting candles amidst calls of “Inquilab Zindabad”. Nadeem Khan, one of the core founding members of United Against Hate, sounded hopeful. “We’ve organised similar protests in about 70 districts across India. Since May 23, India sees 6-8 hate crimes every day. If one community is getting so aggressive, we have to do something to prevent it and we are doing whatever we can.”