The Cockroach Janata Party (KJP) staged a protest in the capital Delhi against police crackdown on protesters. Several actors and singers on Tuesday expressed their public support for the students and urged the government to hold talks to resolve the issue.
Punjabi actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh, who had earlier stayed away from the protests, took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to criticize the police action. “What happened is sad,” he said, adding that students should not be treated this way. Terming the voice of man as the voice of God, the artist urged the authorities to listen to the students’ grievances. Recalling the suffering he had to endure during the farmers’ movement and being called a traitor, he said he would be called the same this time too. Actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza also expressed their support for the protesters in a post on the X handle. They said the voice of the youth of the country should be heard clearly and fearlessly as they are the heartbeat of democracy and the real mine of the future. The actor couple urged the government to empower the youth by valuing their strength, courage and dreams.
Veteran actress Shawana Azmi and actor-producer Prakash Raj joined protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar before marching towards Parliament House in July, Azmi said the protest was peaceful and based on constitutional values and that they had gathered to exercise their rights under the country’s constitution. Recalling the peaceful protests that Mahatma Gandhi had pioneered, he said that he had no intention of creating a violent situation. But after police action against protesters on Monday, actress Huma Qureshi said she was deeply pained by the lathicharge and brutality against peaceful protesters. Qureshi said the scene will remain in his mind for a long time.
Film writer Sutpa Chikdar refers to the struggle of the protesting students and says that they are not the children of an influential father, but ordinary students with just 20 rupees in their pockets and the hope of accountability in their hearts. He said no one came to their rescue and appreciated the determination of the students who were fighting problems like bus, train, admission and question paper leakage. Similarly, actor and producer Nandita Das said constructive opposition keeps democracy alive and stands in solidarity with all peaceful protesters. Actress Bhumi Pednekar also posted a wide-ranging post on Instagram saying that violence can never be solved and urged the government to focus on students who are victims of loopholes in the education system.
Stars like Soni Razdan, Zeenat Aman, Abhay Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Ami Vaidya and Sonakshi Sinha have also publicly supported the movement and called for peaceful protests. Describing the youth as the greatest strength of the country, Sonakshi Sinha said that despite the odds and challenges, the protesters remained steadfast in their faith. In this scenario, this growing support from the film industry has given a new dimension to the movement and it remains to be seen how the government responds officially to the students’ demands in the future.