Muslims lodge silent protest wearing black bands on Eid

"Would you please tie this black band on my arm? Make sure its tight please," whispered a 10-year-old boy to his father sitting next to him in a Mosque in Jamia Nagar in Delhi on Monday.

He along with several others were seen sporting a black band on their arms to mark protest against several cases of lynching across India in the recent past.

Muslims across the country joined in a campaign that gained momentum on social media urging them to express their anguish and register their protest wearing a black band during Eid-ul-Fitr prayers.

"It received an overwhelming response from the people. In fact there was a time when we ran short of black bands. People themselves were asking for the bands to register their protest," said Faiz Khan, a practicing lawyer and a resident of Sunder Nagri in North East Delhi.

After the program, the group also gathered for clicking selfies and got busy posting them on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to spread the campaign.

This move gained momentum soon after the brutal murder of a 16-year-old boy in a moving train in Ballabhgarh, Haryana days before Eid.

The Khandawali village too sported black bands to register their protest against the Junaid's murder. Amidst the media gathering, the villagers offered Eid prayers with black bands tied on their arms.

People at Delhi Jama Masjid also supported the cause and had brought their own black bands. Some of them were seen giving interviews to the electronic media gathered outside.

The former member of Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb said " Nowadays it has become a crime to wear the traditional Muslim dresses, wear 'topi' and sport a beard and get targeted.

The government is silent on such crimes. We wore black bands to show our community might be dormant but not dead". Moreover, a citizens' protest will be held at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 28 against the "targeted lynching" and assaults. The organisers hope other groups will hold similar protests across the country. They have titled the event 'Not In My Name'.