Kolkata rape and murder: On I-Day Eve, Mumbai’s women reclaim the night

MUMBAI: On the eve of August 15, citizens all over the country greeted the 78th year of India’s independence with protests against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College. Mumbai, not to be left behind, had gatherings at multiple locations in the city despite the obstacles of police permissions and last-minute arrangements.
The prelude to the night’s events began with a small gathering outside Dadar East railway station at 5.30 pm, held by the Progressive Doctors League. “We were around 25-odd people, some of us doctors, talking and distributing flyers on the crime,” said Pooja Vrushali. “Many passersby stopped to listen and engage with us. We talked about how this was not solely a doctors’ issue but one of women not safe being anywhere.”
By far the largest protest was the first one held that night. It started at 9 pm in Lokhandwala, Andheri, with a strength of over 350 people. “Even at 40, such an incident shakes me up,” said organiser Debasree Ghosh. “I think of my daughter back home in Kolkata, and women unsafe everywhere, even their workspace. What is the meaning of independence for us?”
Ghosh had initially planned to take out a one-woman silent protest outside Infinity Mall. “But as it was the eve of Independence Day, I thought of asking for police permission and slowly others joined me,” she said. “This led to me spending the whole of Wednesday at the police station, negotiating and pleading.” Eventually, Ghosh got permission with a changed timing and location, but a huge crowd showed up which “warmed” her heart.
An entirely silent protest lit by candles and a few posters, the demonstration ended early by 10.15 pm under pressure by the police but not before the singing of Rabindranath Tagore’s iconic poem ‘Ekla Chalo Re’, exhorting people to walk alone if need be. “It’s a reminder to all that even if you have to do something alone, never give up the fight for a better world,” said Nikhil Karmakar.
IIT students and professors were another bunch that picked up the mantle, with over 100 of them gathering at Galleria Mall in Powai at 11 pm. “It was a silent protest with candles and posters,” said an IIT student. “As a Bengali woman, I wanted to show my solidarity with the fight for women’s safety and justice for the RG Kar Hospital victim. Mumbai might be safer, but we must fight for women everywhere.”
The protest ended on a sour note, as several students had invited women from Jai Bhim Nagar in the neighbourhood, who have been homeless since June 6 when their slums were demolished by the BMC. “They were called as they too are women who have been living in the open and feeling unsafe in these months without shelter,” said the IIT student. “When they were given posters about their struggle, it led to heated arguments among the group. The police then dispersed us by 11.35 pm because of the noise.” This group too ended by singing songs by Rabindranath Tagore.
The final gathering started at 11 pm in Malad East, with over 75 people in black walking with sombre faces and candles from Malad Junction to Kurar Metro Station. “Our intention was to join the rest of the country in ‘reclaiming the night’ because why shouldn’t women be able to walk freely in the night? The night is as much ours as it is anyone else’s,” said Debashree Dinda, 43, who works for an MNC. “We got police permission which was then rescinded at 6 pm. But we continued with the march regardless.”