1. On January 21, 2017 a worldwide protest was held to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights, immigration reforms, racial equality etc. One of the signature trends it started was the wearing of pink hats that look like they have cat’s ears. It soon became one of the biggest marches in history with over five million people taking part in it globally. This year, with the theme “Look back, March Forward” more than 250 such marches were organised. What name is given to these marches due to the leading organisers and those who take part in it, in full force?
2. This monument is the entrance to the Imperial City in Beijing and was built in 1420. The original meaning of the name can be literally translated as the “Gate of Heavenly Peacemaking.” In 1989 a peaceful protest was led by students and took place in the square in front of this gate. The ruling Communist Party declared martial law and sent in troops and tanks, which led to the death of thousands of demonstrators. An iconic image from this incident is one of a single demonstrator stopping a line of tanks from entering the square. What is the name of the monument by which these protests became known?
3. The main theme in this march is “We are the 99%”. What started as a protest against Western economic distributions grew to be a worldwide revolution against the minutely-controlled economic system that is believed to favour the richest 1%, leaving the remaining 99% to suffer compromise. The movement gets its name from the original proposal for peacefully taking over New York City’s main financial district. What is this movement known as?
4. Iqbal Bano was an acclaimed Pakistani Ghazal singer. From 1978 to 1988, the country was under the rule of a four-star general who had banned multiple things including singing songs with Indian names in them and forbade women from wearing sari. In 1985, Iqbal Bano led a musical resistance by dressing in a black sariand roused 50,000 people to sing ‘Hum Dekhenge’ by Faiz Ahmed Faiz (whose works were also banned). She was arrested as soon as she stopped singing. Whose rule was she revolting against?
5. This march started on March 12,1930 and went on for 24 days and was against the India Salt Act of 1882 that gave the British a monopoly on the collection and manufacture of salt. This meant that even though salt was freely available to people living on the coast, they had to buy it from the colonial government. This march is named after the village in Gujarat where it ended. What is the name of this march?
6. The ___ March was a large procession held in London on February 9, 1907 where more than 3,000 women marched to advocate for women’s right to vote. The name comes from the fact that the London weather did its worst in trying to stop the march. Constant drizzle had turned the dirt roads into ___. It was just everywhere and the march was described as extremely colourful above the knees. What is the name of this march?
7. This protest was held by media people and their supporters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in January, 2014. This was in response to the government’s restrictions on the media and heavy censorship. The name of the march comes from the act of breaking a particular coloured writing instrument in half which symbolised the government’s opposition of media. What coloured stationery was this?
8. The Vedaranyam March was modelled on the earlier march against the Salt Tax but was done on the East Coast. A close friend of Mahatma Gandhi led the protestors from Trichy to Vedaranyam in Tanjore where he collected salt from the sea and was promptly arrested by the police and imprisoned for six months. Who led this march, and would later go on to become the only Indian and the last person to hold a particular post?
9. The 2017 Faizabad sit-in was a protest in Pakistan where people all over the country marched in solidarity to demand the resignation of Minister of Law and Justice Zahid Hamid. The reason was that in the Elections Bill the words ‘I solemnly swear’ had been changed to ‘I ______’, in a clause relating to a candidate’s stance on the finality of the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad — the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath. The government claimed it to be a clerical error. What was the word that had been inserted causing 20 days of unrest?
10. The ___________ is an annual rally and celebration in the tiny village of Nimbin in Australia. Started in 1993, it is held to protest drug laws, educate people on the various uses of cannabis and to celebrate its culture. The name is a clever reference to a carnival that happens 47 days before Easter and means ‘Fat Tuesday’ in French. By adding just one letter to this name the Australian version gives an idea of what it is all about. What is it called?
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley
Answers
1. Women’s March
2. Tiananmen Square Protests
3. Occupy Wall Street
4. Muhammed Zia-ul-Haq
5. Dandi March
6. Mud March
7. Red Pencil
8. Rajagopalachari
9. Believe
10. MardiGrass
