For 24-year-old K.M. Yogesh Kumar, life changed when he heard a debate on the radio on whether the documentary India’s Daughter should be banned.
It inspired him to watch the film, read up on rape laws in India and now he is riding around the country collecting signatures for a petition to get fast-track courts in all the States to deal with rape cases.
Yogesh’s initiative, called ‘Revolution of Anti-Rape’ (ROAR), will take from his hometown Bengaluru to Kanyakumari, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Delhi, Leh-Ladakh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
“I hope to collect 30,000 signatures and finish my ride in 23 days. I will then submit my petition to the President, Prime Minister and the Ministry of Law and Justice,” he said. He was in Chennai for a day on Saturday after a 1,000-km ride.
This biker will be on his Yamaha R15 Version 2.0, called Sam, talking to teashop owners, dhaba owners and everyone he meets along the way to collect signatures.
“I expect a bulk of the signatures to come from my online petition, but I am talking to people along the way as well to help raise awareness,” he said.
While his demands include a death penalty for all forms of rape, he says he is aiming at education and awareness as his main strategy. “People should understand the harm caused by sexual harassment. Through my campaign, I want people to learn to respect women, whether this is achieved by stricter punishment for rape or by improved awareness,” he said.
The trip has not been easy.
So far, Yogesh has been surviving mainly on chocolate. “Saturday was the first time I ate lunch in two days, and I have stocked up on chocolate, which is the best thing to eat on the road,” he said, adding that he had to courier 6 kg of his luggage, including his sleeping bag.
He is recording his entire trip, and will be posting regular updates on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/mylifeasabiker. To support his cause, you can sign his petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/revolution-of-anti-rape.
Biking fraternity
Riding across the country on a bike is not for the faint-hearted. To make sure bikers have a safe ride, the biking community takes care of its own.
When Yogesh Kumar started planning his trip, he got in touch with biking groups in different parts of the country. “I am part of the Yamaha Riders Club (YRC). I also contacted the Avengers club and other bikers in the different cities I am visiting,” he said. He is in touch with biking clubs in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune.
Through these clubs, he will get help with accommodation, food, and he will contact them whenever he needs help.
“If I have bike trouble or any other problem, I can get in touch with biker groups and they will do their best to help me,” he said.
In Chennai, Yogesh was being shown around by his contemporary at the YRC, M.K. Koteeswaran. “This was the first time we have met, but the bond between bikers is special,” he said, adding that it is common biker etiquette to enquire whether a fellow biker needed any help, even on a chance encounter.
“Once, when I was riding in Kerala, I had a puncture in the middle of nowhere, and I did not have equipment to fix the puncture. By chance I encountered a group of bikers, who stopped and helped me out,” Koteeswaran said.
“Even when I see a biker in Chennai, even if it is at a petrol bunk, I always ask them if they are OK, whether they have a place to stay, or if they need some food,” he added.
K.M. Yogesh Kumar is riding around the country collecting signatures for a petition to get fast-track courts in all the States to deal with rape cases
