‘Hindu daughters beware of love jihad’, read a wall in the streets of Ahmedabad. And there are many such walls all over the city, asking Hindu daughters to not fall for men who practice Islam. But does anyone’s heart fall in love seeing someone’s religion? Raising her voice against Love Jihad through art is Avni Sethi.
Spotted at five such spots in the streets of Ahmedabad, Avni performed against the backdrop of Love Jihad graffiti on Mughal-e-Azam’s Jab Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya.
Speaking to Times of India, Avni, the Kathak dancer and founder of Conflictorium expressed why it is important to perform in the streets.
“Performing with the graffiti in the backdrop raised a voice against this propaganda and when its done on a street, it helps engage and interact with people who regularly pass through streets where such messages are being disseminated.”
But why that particular song? She adds,
“There’s an open declaration that we’re in love and why should we be scared. If I will love, I’ll do so fearlessly.”
She further said how it is a propaganda and that these were busy roads and people chance upon these slogans on a daily basis.
“These are not quiet streets but main roads bustling with people through most part of the day. It is the heart of the city and to give such open threats within a city’s landscape is leading us to a path of politics that is largely based on fear. Such propaganda is there on main roads for people to pick up the signs of what’s coming ahead. It is not only on these five roads that this graffiti has been put, it is also on many other roads.“
The video was shared by Shivaji Panikkar first and the video was made by Yogesh Chawda. Since then, it has become a social media talking point.