A NUMBER of intellectuals from the national capital organised a protest dharna and demonstration at Safdar Hashmi Marg, New Delhi, on March 5, in protest against the vandalism let loose by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The protest was organised by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT).

Those who joined the protest included renowned Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi, his wife and well known actress Shaukat Azmi, historians Shireen Moosvi, Uma Chakravarty, Prithvipal Singh and Mushirul Hasan, and painters Vivan Sundaram, Shamshad Hussain, Arpana Kaur, Jatin Das and Naresh Kathuria, among others. The protestors urged the international community to raise its voice against the Taliban vandalism, as manifest in their act of destroying historic Buddha statues and other cultural artifacts, and pledged support to the Afghan people’s organisations fighting the barbaric Taliban regime. They also condemned the Sangh Parivar outfits to incite communal passions in India on the pretext of Taliban vandalism.

The anger of the protestors was expressed by the statement which Professor Shireen Moosvi read on behalf of the Indian History Congress, the statement issued by the Aligarh Historians Society and the one read by cultural personality Dr Kapila Vatsyayan. The protestors were also addressed by Asghar Wajahat (JLS) and by Professors Uma Chakravorty and Prithvipal Singh.