Protesters make posters for justice

Eighty-four-year-old Anand Dev is not fit to join the aggressive protests. But the former chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi, is making contributions in seeking justice for the 23-year-old gangrape survivor in his style. Darpan Singh reports.

Eighty-four-year-old Anand Dev is not fit to join the aggressive protests. But the former chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi, is making contributions in seeking justice for the 23-year-old gangrape survivor in his style.

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On Wednesday, the third day of protests at Jantar Mantar, he led a group of artistes to paint posters - some as long as 20 metres - to demand justice for the victim by hanging the accused and also pay homage to the police constable who died when the protests turned violent over the weekend at the India Gate, leaving many injured.

"I am guiding artistes from a group called Srijan. On Sunday, we made a 25-metre-long poster at the hospital where the victim is undergoing treatment. Today, at Jantar Mantar, we made a 10-metre-long poster. The idea is to create awareness. We don't know if it will make a difference. But we can always try," he said.

On a day when seemingly bored policemen and on-standby OB vans outnumbered 70-odd protesters, slogan shouting and aggression gave way to a need to have "socio-cultural and long-term changes".

"May be, people are gradually realising that all the six accused have been arrested. A court trial is likely to start early next month. The Centre has already launched a probe into the incident. There is perhaps little left now which can be achieved through aggressive protests. Changing of law and punishing the accused will obviously take time," said Ashish Kumar Duggal, a protester.

Members of the Socialist Unity Centre of India said, "The government must stop the sale of liquor to increase revenue. Consumption should be banned at public places. We want that vulgar depiction of women be stopped in all forms of art and media."