Facebook Live to die-ins: India warms up to Extinction Rebellion

LONDON/NEW DELHI: What do the Indian independence movement and Extinction Rebellion (XR) have in common? At first glance, probably nothing. A deeper look, though, shows that both have their roots in non-violent civil disobedience movements.
"The XR protest in London is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent civil disobedience movement and the US civil rights movement," said Chittranjan Dubey, India representative for XR.
It is no surprise then that XR, which calls for action against climate change, is increasingly finding resonance with the Indian youth. Eco-warriors with XR are now present in Delhi, Bhopal, Gujarat and Gurgaon. Groups in these regions have held several protests to show solidarity with the rebellion in the West. On April 12, a bunch of them showed up outside the ministry of environment, forest and climate change in Delhi.
Then, a group of students in Dhanera, Gujarat, shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani urging them to work towards clean air, water supply and to stop massive industrialisation.
Borrowing from Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg's 'climate strikes', XR India organised a similar event that witnessed 400 kids in Delhi bunking school and gathering at Connaught Place on March 15 to protest. The same day 500 students from Gurgaon held an agitation.
Chittranjan said interest in XR in India has gone up four-fold. "Every day I get inquiries from people across India. From small towns and cities. A young boy contacted me from Jalore in Rajasthan after he read about the London protests. In fact, our first protest was held on December 9, 2018 in Sheoganj, a village in Sirohi, Rajasthan, and it was organised by people living in rural areas," Dubey told TOI over phone from his residence in Munich, Germany.
Queries are pouring in from college students to professionals in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad. And they are likely to open chapters in all these cities soon.
The widespread interest has prompted them to organise Facebook Live sessions by climate change experts. They are planning mass die-ins (a form of protest in which participants simulate being dead) in shopping malls. XR supporters across the world have held a series of mass die-ins to highlight the risk to human race from climate change. XR India activists are hopeful that with the UK becoming the first country to declare a "climate emergency" on May 1, it would be a boost to the movement in India.
Law student Sarthak Tomar, co-founder of Bhopal XR, started his fight with a team of four in October 2018. Within six months, 15 youngsters were on board. Indians have also been a part of the rebellion in London. In mid-April in Oxford Circus, Delhi-born Jahan Jhala, 27-year-old son of Indian advertising tycoon Ajai Jhala, was one of the protesters who had chained themselves to others. "Look at how bad the smog is in Delhi. There are many Indian cities where one can't breathe properly," he said.