In the wake of Jawaharlal Nehru University students being attacked by an unidentified mob on 5 January, protests have broken out across the country to condemn the attack. Bollywood celebrities had also taken part in one of the protests that took place at Carter Road, Mumbai, on 6 January.
Director Neeraj Ghaywan shared a video on Twitter, showing filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj reciting a poetry to voice his dissent.
Lyricist Swanand Kirkire sang one of his most popular songs, ‘Bawra Mann’, to express solidarity with the protesters who had gathered in large numbers. Sharing the video on Twitter, a user wrote, “ When Mumbai sings for JNU Mumbai sings 'Bawra Mann' for JNU..”
More pictures and videos on Twitter show Taapsee Pannu, Ali Fazal, Richa Chadha, Anubhav Sinha, Dia Mirza, Zoya Akhtar, Gauahar Khan, Anurag Kashyap and more celebrities at the protest.
They all joined hands and used music to speak out against the brutal attack.
The silent protest came to an end with the rendition of the National Anthem.
Many celebrities took to social media to post strong messages about the incident. Asking people to ‘stop pretending that all is fine,’ Alia wrote:
“When students, teachers and peaceful civilians become victims of physical assault on an ongoing basis, it’s time to stop pretending that all is fine. We must look truth in the eye and acknowledge that we are a house at war with itself. We, the people of this country no matter how different our ideologies, must find a human solution to all of our complex problems, and reinforce the peaceful and inclusive ideals upon which this country was built.”
Swara, whose mother Ira Bhaskar is a professor at the JNU, took to Twitter to appeal to the people on social media to reach the campus “to pressure the government and Delhi Police” to control the violence.
Sonam Kapoor took to Twitter to call the attack disgusting and cowardly.
At least 18 people were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). JNU students' union president Aishe Ghosh suffered a head injury.
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