Marching shirtless to protest price rise

Taking their shirts off, about 100 men went on a protest march in the Capital to voice their concerns on the price rise of commodities in India.

Taking their shirts off, about 100 men went on a protest march in the Capital on Thursday to voice their concerns on the price rise of commodities in India.

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Organised by the Delhi unit of the Indian Justice Party, the march saw the demonstrators gather at the Ramlila grounds in central Delhi before taking their march on to the roads and congregating again at Jantar Mantar near Connaught Place.

Udit Raj, national president of the Indian Justice Party, said inflation has made life very difficult for a common person who is struggling to make both ends meet.

"The price rise of commodities, like vegetables and cereals which we all sustain on, has made them almost untouchable. Reports say that 79 per cent of the Indian population lives on less than Rs 20 per day. How does one expect that a bulk of the population will lead a healthy life with this kind of inflation?" Raj said.

"This half nude demonstration is to protest the price rise and tell the government that it can't go on ignoring these vital issues and divert the attention to the nuclear deal," he added.

Raising slogans expressing similar sentiments, one of the protesters said: "The price rise has almost made us nude (as in, they can't afford to buy anything). Vegetable prices have become Rs 40-50 a kilo...."

"But because of the cultural ethos of the society, we decided to have a half-nude demonstration."