Numbers down but spirit up as ‘Reclaim Night’ returns after a yr
Times of India | 15 August 2025
Kolkata: A year after the unprecedented response from women and trans-queer people, who had hit the roads to reclaim the night in a show of anger over the rape-murder of a PGT doctor at RG Kar Hospital, women, girls and trans-queer persons were back on streets to rekindle the movement.
The rallies and gathering, though much fewer in number than last year's, reverberated with slogans such as "the night is ours" and "meye ra raat dokhol koro". They protested against victim-blaming, ingrained misogyny and patriarchal mindset of the society through art, street plays and songs. Organisations such as ‘Raat Dokhol Din Bodol', ‘Abhaya Mancha', Reclaim the Night (Women-Trans-Queer) United, All Bengal Alumni Association, Behala Pratibadi Mancha, Jadavpur Puratani-o-Sanghati, Uttorer Kontho and others took part in ‘Reclaim the Night' programme in several parts of the city, including Shyambazar, Kankurgachhi, Sinthi More, Lake Town, Nagerbazar, Baguiati, Academy of Fine Arts, Jadavpur, Garia, Rashbehari More, Dhakuria, Ruby More, Karunamoyee and New Town. The protest took place in districts, too. Rimjhim Sinha, the first voice to give a call for ‘Reclaim the Night', said, "A year has gone by but none of the structural demands has been implemented. This year, too, we are on the streets to make our voices heard.
" Sinha gave a call of gathering at Jadavpur Coffee House. Jadavpur Puratani-o-Sanghati marked the first anniversary of ‘Reclaim the Night' at Jadavpur 8B Bus stand with theatre, speeches and songs that saw participation of over 350. Reclaim the Night (Women-Trans-Queer) United screened two films along with cultural protest, which saw a turnout of more than 200. Over 350 were present at Garia at 10 pm. The crowd increased as night approached. At Ruby More, there were over 500. Netaji Nagar, too, saw participation of around 350 in a torch rally. Over 350 hit the streets at Sinthi More. Not too many people were seen at Shyambazar either. All Bengal Alumni Association and ‘Abhaya Mancha' organised a gathering at Rashbehari. A torch rally was held from Kasba Rathtala to Dhakuria Banerjee para. Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya was one of the speakers at Rashbehari. Playwright and actor Chandan Sen, Badshah Moitra, junior doctor Debashis Halder were also present. Baguiati and Lake Town saw participation of over 150 people till 10 pm.