Free the watermelon: Silent march on Church Street speaks louder for Palestine

Bengaluru: Over 100 people gathered at Church Street on Sunday evening for a silent walk with posters and placards in solidarity with Palestine. 

The posters displayed images of watermelons — a symbolic representation of Palestine with the colours of its flag — bearing messages urging people to walk along or "free the watermelon".

Gathering in small groups near the Church Street exit of the MG Road metro station between 3 pm and 5 pm, the protesters paraded up and down the street holding their placards aloft. Some of them stopped briefly to explain the message behind the watermelon on their posters and continued their march without raising slogans.

As the group passed by the petrol station near St Mark's Road, a man in a white shirt shouted: "Deshadrohi nayigalige dhikkara (condemn the anti-national dogs) at them. Police stood by watching the man.

Witnesses said that four to five police officers on Church Street questioned people with the posters. Many were asked to put away their posters and asked to refrain from filming the walk.

Police even asked people to avoid standing in groups, especially those holding papers and posters.

"It wasn't planned or coordinated by anyone. We all got here through social media and word of mouth, where it was decided to hold a peaceful walk along Church Street as a show of solidarity to the Palestinian cause. We don't even know each other’s names," said one of the many people walking down the street with a poster, who requested anonymity.

After police detained five people at the spot, the groups dispersed at 5 pm.