No parties, it is time for protest

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Students protesting at India Gate during the weekend

A day before Christmas, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that before Christmas people should not suffer but enjoy. But sadly, nobody wanted to have fun. Not even those youngsters who are always ready to party hard during the winter vacation.

College students, for whom this is the season to party and catch up with old friends, have given up all their party plans and have geared up to protest against the gangrape case that happened in the city recently.
The incident has scared them so much that they want to make sure that nothing like this happens again. “It is only possible when we all stand up in unity and ask for immediate justice,” says Surabhi Verma, a final year student of Political Science from Kamla Nehru College. Surabhi has been going to India Gate and now to Jantar Mantar on a regular basis to show her support towards the cause.
“After this incident, there’s no excitement either for Christmas or New Year celebrations. How can you enjoy when you know you are not safe in your own city? I just wish that our protests bring some change,” says Surabhi.
A B.Com (Hons) student from Deshbandhu College, Kavita says that the incident has changed everything, especially for the girls. “Now, everybody is focused on this,” says Kavita, who usually used to work around this vacation time. “This year, I have left everything. Fighting for our safety is more important. If this is the situation in the city, none of us would be safe till the time there are proper rules and regulation in place and that is why I am a part of all the protests,” she says.
For Miranda House student Nidhi Rani, winter vacation is a time to earn extra bucks in the day and party hard at night. But this time, she is doing nothing of the sort. Rather, she is making placards and joining the student protests. “It’s more important than everything else,” she says.
But everybody isn’t so sure that their campaigns will be very effective. Nitin Chaudhary, a first year undergraduate student from Satyawati College, has been a regular at the protest against the gangrape incident from day one. He had plans to meet school friends during the weekend and party on Christmas eve, but he shelved all of those to fight for the cause. And though he has stood up for what he believes, he is also doubtful that not much is going to change in the system. “Such a protest is not happening for the first time. I have regularly been a part of the protests against corruption as well, but it didn’t really change much. I just wish there’s a better platform to voice our concerns, where we know that we will be heard and action will be taken,” he concludes.