Media Release

Mangaluru, Sep 27: The large student community in the city will  on Thursday, September 28, lead a silent protest march starting 2.45 pm, from Ambedkar Circle to Nehru Maidan, to draw attention to those two qualities that are vital for any healthy society - freedom and fraternity.

“It is high time that the public unite to send a message of love and companionship among communities, and also show a peaceful yet firm resistance to those perpetuating violence,” said Vidya Dinker, coordinator of Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development.

The ‘Freedom and Fraternity March' will culminate with a public meeting at Nehru Maidan, at 3.45 pm where discussions will stress the importance of dissent in a healthy democracy.

Noted activist and speaker Kavita Krishnan will be chief guest for the event.

Freedom and Fraternity March is an initiative by various student bodies and like-minded organisations from the city who feel disturbed by recent turbulent events that have occurred in the country, such as the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, or the killings  of rationalists like M M Kalaburgi and Narendra Dhabolkar.

These concerned citizens now feel compelled to show up on the streets to stand up for the ideals of the constitution.

“All marchers will bind their mouths to symbolically show that our voices are not being heard. We hope that this march changes that,” said Rahul, a student set to participate in the march.

“The march however is going to be a silent protest to act as a mirror to our so-far silent society,” he added.

“We feel that our right to freedom of speech and expression is constantly under threat in the country due to various incidents, so we decided to carry out this march to show that we were unhappy and that our right to dissent should not be trampled upon,” said Ujjwal, another participant organiser.

This first of its kind silent student-led protest march in the city is expected to see overwhelming participation from citizens of Mangaluru.