Cultural troupes to add colour to the campaign

Thiruvananthapuram: The footpath in front of the Secretariat has been the venue for staging protests for the past few years.
Unlike traditional campaigns, ‘We the People’ features cultural programmes, art exhibitions, live caricatures and cartoons. What adds a different vibe to ‘We the People’ campaign is that it has no organized structure to it. There are no leaders and anybody can contribute to the campaign.

Activist Maitreya Maitreyan who had been inactive from mainstream activism for a long time has joined the campaign and has been observing hunger strike as part of the campaign.

“Ever since the Sabarimala verdict was announced, there have been reports only about the ‘believers’. We The People is a platform for people who do not fit into the ‘believer’ category.

During floods, a united Kerala had swung into action to rescue and rehabilitated the affected people. Now, the same people are creating unrest and spreading hate,” he said.

Maithreyan added certain Hindu outfits have portrayed Kerala’s dominant voice as ‘anti-women and anti-constitutional’.

A painting exhibition by TK Murali is part of the campaign. Titled as ‘Amana Renaissance Exhibition – Paintings without a History’, it features several paintings that tell the viewers how social change has contributed to the overall development of the society. Around 30 artists will draw caricatures and cartoons for free. About 20 students from Fine Arts College are part of the team. The organizers initially planned to do a mass balloon release to inaugurate the event but later cancelled it considering the environmental impact.

The organizers also assured that they will remove all the waste generated. A motorcycle rally held from Manaveeyam Veedhi at 5pm on Sunday. tnn