Why youngsters are in a black mood

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In a mark of protest, the youth of the country are all set to boycott the Republic Day celebrations. The social media is abuzz with angry posts and numerous pages like Boycott Republic Day Celebrations in Honour of Damini, Boycott republic day celebrations, Black Day | “No Show” Republic Day | 26th Jan 2013, have sprung up on Facebook urging netizens to mark this day as Black Day.

“When the government is not allowing us to peacefully protest we should also protest against Republic Day as there’s no freedom. The gangrape incident has let us down badly and our government have not taken any proper measures to ensure safety and security of women. They still seem to very much insensitive. We all need justice and proper laws so that Republic Day can actually mean something,” say Deepakk Kalraa and Siddhant Kalra, of the Black Day page.
Annu Arora tweets, “If you want to make the world safe for women, zero tolerance is the only way to go..”.
Designer Abhishek Singh, who has decided not to be a part of the Republic Day celebrations, asks, “I can’t voice my opinion, am I an Indian republican? I get raped, molested and harassed. I am dragged on streets when I speak my mind. Should I salute the flag drenched in my blood? Should I be a proud republican on this 26th? It is time we participate actively to bring in the much-needed change in the system.”
Will boycotting the Republic Day force government to frame strong laws for women’s safety? Will the government listen to the people if they don’t celebrate Republic Day? Nishank Sharma, finance professional, says, “Well, crime against women is not what people should boycott January 26 for. The reason we should boycott it is because of several equally important issues that have been neglected by the government for the past 66 years. Having said that, boycotting Republic Day would be akin to boycotting the flag or the national anthem. Is it right to do that to show anger against the government? The government isn’t the republic.”
Although freelance writer Amit Dwivedi agrees that it is absolutely wrong of the government to ban protests as it defeats the idea of the Republic day, he also feels, “Boycotting the Republic Day in itself is not the right way to protest.”
Trishala Shandilya, a Delhi University student adds, “The first step has to be taken by us. We have to stop passing the buck. Wake up people. Repose trust in your actions and then expect. Boycotting Republic Day is not going to bring any change. Why didn’t people boycott December 31 celebrations?”