From Delhi to Hyderabad: How Shaheen Bagh-type protest has galvanised people
The peaceful flame of resistance has spread beyond the national capital and across the country.
In Shaheen Bagh, thousands of women are sitting round the clock everyday, carrying a message of resistance to the recently amended citizenship act (CAA) and the subsequent proposed exercise of National Register of Citizens (NRC). Their message is loud and clear - a satyagraha to be heard by the government.
The peaceful flame of resistance has now spread to other communities in and beyond the national capital and across the country. In some places, the police have also removed the protesters but the wave is growing. As on Wednesday, January 22, at least 20 Shaheen Bagh-inspired sit-in protests have been reported in the country. Out of the total, about 10 were in the national capital itself.
Here is a look at some of these protests:
1. In addition to Shaheen Bagh, in Delhi itself, sit-in protests have been organised at several places such as at Khureji, Turkman Gate, Jaffarabad and Seelampur, Kardam Puri, Old Mustafabad and Bhajanpura. These protests have been organised by locals, where in women sit throughout the night to mark their protest against CAA and NRC and to sympathise with the women of Shaheen Bagh.
2. In Madhya Pradesh, similar protests have been reported from Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Khandwa. Several Congress and Left party leaders have addressed these women, who are protesting since January 15 whereas the BJP has held pro-CAA rallies in several parts of the state, some of which have turned violent also.
3. In West Bengal, women-led anti-CAA protests has been organised since January 7 at Park Circus, Kolkata. Hundreds of women and children, armed with placards, slogans and determination, have gathered outside a local mosque in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Park Circus.
4. In Bihar, Shaheen Bagh has inspired demonstrations in Patna’s Sabzibagh, Gaya’s Shanti Bagh, and in towns of Kishanganj, Bahadurganj and Gopalganj. “Shaheen Bagh has become the face of ongoing protests and galvanised people. In solidarity, we’ve started protests in Kishanganj as well so that it continues to inspire people,” said Abu Affan Farooquee, an advocate from Kishanganj.
5. In Uttar Pradesh, similar protests have been reported from several cities such as Lucknow, Prayagraj, Etawah, Aligarh, Kanpur, Meerut and Morababad. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned that shouting slogans of ‘azaadi’ (freedom) at these protests would amount to treason and people will be booked for sedition. The police had forcefully removed women protesters from Lucknow and Etawah citing prohibitory orders.
6. In Telangana, women started a Shaheen Bagh-type protest near Tolichowky flyover in Hyderabad was not allowed. However, in some localities, symbolic night long dharnas (sit-ins) were held to sympathise with Shaheen Bagh women, who are at the forefront of the protest.
7. Similar protests have also been reported from some place in western Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. However, the biggest protest in the region is happening in Kota, where women have been sitting on round the clock dharna (sit-in) since January 14. Smaller Shaheen Bagh-type protests have been reported from Ahmedabad and Pune also.