At a time when there is an alarming rise in hate crimes, the family of Delhi-based photographer Ankit Saxena is a shining example of the fact that all is not lost with the world yet.
On Ankit Saxena’s birth anniversary, his family and friends organised a prayer meeting and a community kitchen at the spot where he was killed on 1 February. Ankit was hacked to death by the parents of his girlfriend at West Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar.
And now, almost two months after his death, his parents and friends distributed free food and organised an inter-faith prayer meet. This is what Ankit would have wanted, says his father Yashpal Saxena.
It is my son’s birthday and we had to celebrate it. He’s not here with us today, but he would have wanted it like this.Yashpal Saxena
Days before the event, Yashpal Saxena told The Quint that he was afraid that anti-social elements might misuse the function, and “try to provoke us like they did after Ankit’s death”.
In the days following Ankit’s death, his family was hounded by journalists, politicians and activists. Today, both Ankit and his family seem to have vanished from public memory. Yashpal referred to the initial attention he got post Ankit’s death as “char din ki chandni”.
But he maintains that spreading love and peace is the way forward.
"I have great respect for Ankit's father. His son was killed because he fell in love with a girl from a Muslim family. Even so Yashpal Saxena, said loud and clear, he wants justice and has no ill will. That is rare in the times that we live in," said human rights activist Harsh Mander.
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