On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the student group Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) along with other students of Delhi University (DU) held a day-long fast at the Arts Faculty, DU, remembering the struggle of the Father of the Nation against communal riots in 1947. 

The programme was organised against the backdrop of communal incidents that are on the rise in India, said a press statement by the student group.

On September 28, a man from the minority Muslim community was lynched to death for eating “prasad” in Delhi’s Sundar Nagri area. The man was beaten and later, he succumbed to his injuries.

“As per reports, the culprits in the case have been arrested, but it points to a larger malaise in society, that is, inhuman hatred being promoted against the people of other communities, especially those from minority communities,” the press statement released by KYS said.

The activists and students participating in the event will be observing a fast till 9 pm tonight, October 2.

“The occasion of Gandhi Jayanti beckons us to remember the anti-communal struggle of Gandhi against communalism in his last days. On the eve of independence from colonial rule and partition in its wake, communal riots rocked many parts of the-British India. Gandhi toured the country to calm the situation. Following the example of his struggle as well as the legacy of anti-colonial luminaries such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil, Fatima Sheikh, Savitribai Phule, and others, we must collectively do penance for the rising communal hatred in the country,” the statement added.