City raises its voice against CAA violence

Gurugram Hundreds of people gathered at the Leisure Valley ground in Sector 29 on Saturday to raise their voice against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and

Gurugram Hundreds of people gathered at the Leisure Valley ground in Sector 29 on Saturday to raise their voice against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the proposed National Register of Citizens.

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Armed with copies of the preamble, Gurugram residents pledged allegiance to the Constitution and promised to uphold ‘Sanjhi Virasat, Sanjhi Nagarikta’ (shared heritage, shared citizenship) at the protest, which was called by the Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch, a citizen’s collective.

Those who had gathered at the venue condemned the violence in the aftermath of the passage of the CAA and demanded that the NRC and CAA be abolished. The demonstration started with a reading of the preamble.

While thanking students and universities for leading the protests against the act, Syeda Hameed, former member of the Planning Commission and National Commission for Women, said that the fight against CAA and NRC is a fight to save the country.

“I live in Jamia, whose foundations were laid down by the tallest leaders of the country. Once again, the movement started from Jamia Millia Islamia will inspire people across the country,” she said.

Hameed also condemned the death of people, who were killed in the violence in Mangalore and Uttar Pradesh.

Among the participants of the protest were children, students, professionals and residents of various communities. Armaan Kazmi, 23, a master’s student of psychology, said that she was at the protest to speak out against violence towards specific communities. “Targeted brutalities are taking place across the country. We can see what’s happening in Delhi’s neighbourhoods of Jamia and Daryaganj. I am here to speak out against these brutalities, since keeping quiet is no longer an option,” she said.

Abdul Wahab, an Assam native, said that the situation was tense in his home town and peace could only be restored by revoking by the CAA. “Internet was snapped in Assam and we spent anxious days thinking about the situation there. The CAA is against the people and needs to go,” said Wahab.

While going around holding a placard that read, “It is so bad that even corporates are here”, Pragati Tulsian, a working professional, said, “We have fixed shift timings, due to which it becomes difficult to take out time and participate on working days. The economy is in a shambles and the government wants to rake up issues that have no place in a secular country.”

Exhorting the government to focus on education, Rakshanda Fatima, a resident of Sector 52, said that the government’s intention behind the act was wrong. Fatima said that both CAA and NRC are anti-secular.

“CAA and NRC threaten our citizenship. While some of us are privileged and well off, what will happen to those who are poor and don’t have any resource? How will they prove their citizenship?” she asked.

The protest ended with participants tearing apart copies of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019.