Graffiti on Delhi violence pops up near Hitech City Metro station

Hyderabad: Echoes of the Delhi riots have found its way, in the form of a graffiti, to Hyderabad. A new wall-painting symbolizing the Delhi riots has come up near Hi-Tech City Metro station on February 27. The graffiti near the Metro is inspired by a photograph taken by Reuter’s photojournalist Danish Siddiqui during the Delhi riots. The image, which went viral on social media, shows a Muslim man kneeling down, trying to save himself from the rioters. The graffiti, captioned "The End of the F**ing Democracy", is reminiscent of this photograph.

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Hyderabad’s Twitterati has expressed mixed reactions to the graffiti. After Indivar Jonnalagadda tweeted a photo of the graffiti, several Twitter users debated whether this was legal. Kalyan J. Yakaiah said, “Why people getting so frantic expressing so much grief & concern at a well expressed Art depicting blatant truth - that too without a color & unbiased of current times? (sic)”

The president of Hyderabad Intellectuals Forum, speaking in the context of GHMC fines on political banners and defacement, further told NewsMeter, “While the EVDM (Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management) wing of the GHMC was doing a good job removing illegal hoardings, several politicians had opposed the fines imposed on them. Why these double standards when the issue is about a politically burning subject, which has come in the form of graffiti?”

Other netizens, tagging Hyderabad police, have asked the authorities to remove the graffiti saying it may create "unrest". One Twitter user, N. Lollati, said, “Please remove that..that will create unrest @hydcitypolice please!! (sic)”, to which Hyderabad police had asked the exact whereabouts of the painting. Some others have expressed their curiosity asking who the artist is.

The Delhi violence, which began from February 24 as a clash between groups for and against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), had turned into a communal riot, killing at least 39 people, as of Friday. The Delhi violence is considered to be one of the worst riots the national capital had witnessed in the past three decades.