Almost six months after the killing of Harambe, a 17-year old Western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, students of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University have organised a candle light vigil in the memory of the beloved gorilla.
The gorilla was shot and killed after a three-year old boy climbed into its enclosure. The incident, which was recorded on video, received an immense amount of international coverage and criticism.
A candle light vigil called “Wicks out for Harambe” has been organised by the debating society of GGSIPU as a part of their intra-college parliamentary debating tournament on October 15. The vigil is set to take place at the university campus in Dwarka between 6.30 and 9 pm.
Swrang Varma, one of the organisers of the event told Bar & Bench that the idea originated after they heard about how some students at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras were denied permission to hold a similar event in their college.
He stated –
“We felt like we could express a lot with the freedom our institution has given us. I think it makes a statement about when one’s right is pitted against another’s and whose right is valued more. It’s an ethical question. Harambe could help with answering that.”
The vigil has gained popularity after the creation of their Facebook event, with over 600 confirmed participants.