June 28: #NotInMyName, a call for protest against the recent spate of lynching of Muslims in the country in the name of protecting Hinduism, descended on ground today in the city as hundreds of protesters gathered around Madhusudan Mancha in Dhakuria.

The event was part of a nationwide protest taking place simultaneously at Delhi, Patna, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai. An overcast sky threatened the unfolding of the event, but many among the crowd, seasoned protesters, had come armed with umbrellas and raincoats. Others had come after reading the announcement on Facebook or WhatsApp, out of a sense of personal conviction.

All braved the rain and a microphone that had stopped working to listen to the voices of protest against a state that allows " gau-rakshaks" to kill "beef-eaters", suspected or otherwise, with impunity.

Among the speakers were some well-known names. Film director Aparna Sen was one of the first to address the crowd. She spoke out against the climate in the country that permits such killings to happen. Many carried posters that remembered Junaid, the 16-year-old who was lynched by a mob in a Haryana train as he was returning home after buying clothes to celebrate Id. Actor Dhritiman Chaterji, who warned that "Fascism is on its way", read a poem by artist K.G. Subramanyan titled Gujarat 2002. Anjan Dutt sang in protest.

Singer Moushumi Bhowmik, who sang two of her own compositions and a Tagore song, raised a crucial question. "If we say these killings are not happening in our names, it implies that we have perfect brotherly relationships with everyone. But if it were so, would we be here participating in such an event? We are all culpable."

Kavita Panjabi, who teaches comparative literature at Jadavpur University, said holding protest meetings was important. But equally important was talking about these issues in the classroom, to children, paying particular attention to how we do it.