Jantar Mantar protest: Digital initiative by a software firm in Kochi to extend support
“Together”, says Sanika from Thrissur. “Hope”, says Anish from Kottayam. “Justice”, says Anand from Dubai. These are a few examples of how people from across
“Together”, says Sanika from Thrissur. “Hope”, says Anish from Kottayam. “Justice”, says Anand from Dubai. These are a few examples of how people from across the globe have described the ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the NEET paper leak issue, in a single word. This is done via One More Voice, an initiative by Faircode, a Kochi-based software company. Labelled a “digital expression of solidarity with the students” protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and other parts of the country, One More Voice is an online campaign which allows users to describe what the protest means to them and extend support with just one word.
Jantar Mantar protest latest updates The initiative emerges as nationwide protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party are at their peak, demanding resignation of Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, following repeated NEET paper leaks and multiple student suicides. This resulted in a 26-day-long hunger strike by activist Sonam Wangchuk, which ended on Thursday (July 23). “We were thinking about how people who couldn’t travel to Delhi could be part of the country-wide protest. Citizens often feel the necessity to contribute, which allows them to find some amount of solace,” says Rajith Ramachandran, co-founder, Faircode. The website, which was deployed on Thursday night (July 23), requires two steps: first, users are asked to type in a word that resonates with the ongoing movement; second, they can choose to add their names and the place they are from.
They can leave this field blank, too. “We have two objectives. One, to unify people who want to be a part of the protests but are unable to travel to Delhi and, two, to create an awareness about the issue at hand, for people who live away from the protest sites,” says Rajith, adding that the website is not affiliated to any political party. Since its launch, the website has had 1369 responses (as of 4.30pm, July 24) after being shared among the IT professionals at Infopark in Kochi. The site, created by Rajith with the help of Sikhin S Panoor and Nihal N, employees of his company, is built to endure heavy traffic, if more people want to register their responses, says Rajith.
He adds, “We have also received some feedback from the users. They have asked us to display the most popular words entered. We are creating a separate page for that. Justice is the popular word at present. Other popular choices include Accountability, Solidarity, Voice and Freedom.” Responses can be added on onemorevoice.in
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