Around 500 people came together in Mumbai on Sunday for a peace march organised by Mumbai for Peace, a collective of citizens, workers, students, women’s groups, and activists, rallying against rising hate and intolerance while reaffirming their commitment to the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
The rally, held from 4 pm to 6 pm, began at Kotwal Gardens in Dadar and concluded at Chaityabhoomi, spreading a message of “love, peace, and fraternity” as participants sang “Mumbai Meri Hai” to assert that Mumbai belongs to all Mumbaikars and will not bow to the politics of hate.
Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, atheists, and citizens from all religious and caste backgrounds raised slogans like “Hum sab ek hain” (We are all one), “Mumbaikars ek hain” (Mumbaikars are one), “Pyaar mohabbat zindabad” (Long live love and affection), “Mumbai ki ekta zindabad” (Long live Mumbai’s unity), while invoking leaders such as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule, Fatima Shaikh, Mahatma Phule, and Shivaji Maharaj, highlighting the historic plurality of the state and city.
The march, held ahead of World Environment Day, participants, including Adivasi activists from Aarey who have long defended Mumbai’s green lungs, also pledged to protect the environment by saving trees, mangroves, and beaches, keeping air and water pollution-free, and importantly, ensuring the safety of all Mumbaikars by standing united against the toxic effects of hate.
Activists Tushar Gandhi and Shakir Shaikh, writer Urmila Pawar, filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, poet Pradnya Daya Pawar, educator Fr Frazer Mascerenhas, and Madhu Mohite, feminist activist Hasina Khan, amongst others, addressed the rally.
Tushar Gandhi called the march an “essential action”, stating that “today, hate is manifesting everywhere and becoming a predominant emotion.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.