Youth Across India Take Part in Climate Change Protests

Thousands of people gathered in various parts of the country on September 20 and 21 as part of the Global Climate Strike Week to raise awareness about the climate crisis being faced by countries across the world. Fridays For Future is a youth-led movement against climate change, which has planned thousands of events across the world between September 21 and September 27.

This week will be historic, as people across the world take part in the largest global climate protests in history. People are stepping up to support young climate strikers and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. Young people have woken up much of the world with their powerful Fridays For Future school strikes for the climate. Now, millions of adults are joining in a huge wave that has kickstarted renewed action all over the world. The urgency of the climate crisis requires a new approach and a just response centred on human rights, equity, and justice.

In the capital, thousands of youths took part in the Delhi edition of Fridays For Future (FFF). The protesters gathered in Lodhi Garden before marching to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, located in Jorbagh. The gathering was a mix of high school students in their uniforms, college students, and climate change activists. Environmental collectives like ‘There’s No Earth B’, ‘Extinction Rebellion’, ‘Nine is Mine’, ‘Tears of Earth’, as well as representatives from Amnesty International and volunteers from Greenpeace were also present at the protest.

Also read: Climate Strike on September 20: What Does and Should it Mean for Indian Scientists?

Harsh Gupta, a 27-year-old filmmaker who is part of FFF Delhi told NewsClick, “We have three demands. One is to declare a climate emergency. This is not only symbolic, with other countries doing this too, but it will also be a road map that will put pressure on the government to act; the second is that the government tells us the truth about how we are upholding the promises under the Paris Agreement [of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change], and the third is for them to put in place a legislation to achieve the first two demands, which will also necessitate youth participation.”

A march was taken out in Lucknow, where around 200 people took part. Talking to NewsClick, Shikhar Singhal, who is a part of FFF Lucknow, said, “There were not too many people in the march, but we have to start somewhere. It is going to take some time. We are going to organise more events in the city to raise awareness about climate change.” He added, “One of the universities here has decided to go zero-waste, so FFF is going to help them achieve that, and we are also going to approach other colleges and universities to take up the initiative.”

On Friday, September 20, protests were organised in Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Goa, Durgapur, Kolkata, and Bhopal. On Saturday, further protests took place in Siliguri, Pune, and Cuttack. In the next five days of the week, the country will witness more protests in various places like Ahmedabad, Bhiwandi, Bankura, Azamgarh, Kharagpur, Ludhiana, and Dehradun. The greatest number of events are scheduled for Friday, September 27, when protests will be organised in Alipurduar, Mumbai, Siliguri, Navi Mumbai, Jaipur, Kanpur, and several other places.