Ramachandra Guha detained

Bengaluru Noted historian Ramachandra Guha who was part of the protest at the Town Hall in Bengaluru was detained by the police on Thursday. Guha, who is the author

Bengaluru Noted historian Ramachandra Guha who was part of the protest at the Town Hall in Bengaluru was detained by the police on Thursday. Guha, who is the author of critically acclaimed books on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Indian independence movement, including Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World (1914-1918), hit out at the current Bharatiya Janata Party-led administration for using a colonial-era law to “supress dissent and stifle differing voices.”

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He also accused the Modi government of using the newly-passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) — which offers citizenship to undocumented migrants of multiple faiths other than Islam, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan — to “divert attention from a sinking economy.” He was detained among hundred others, and taken to a holding place near Audogodi. Here, the police sought their details and released them a few hours later.

Guha, who was holding a placard with a photograph of Dr B R Ambedkar, which said “CAA is against the Constitution” was detained minutes before he told the media: “Why is that only BJP ruled states have this (Imposition of Section 144) and not others? This is totally wrong. These are ordinary citizens protesting. Police are getting orders from Delhi... Everybody should stand up. We are here to assert our democratic rights.”

Later, speaking to HT, Guha said: “Unlike the students, I was not asked for any details. I was detained for about four hours and later told that I was free to go.”

Recounting his detention, Guha said, “I was part of the first two dozen people who were there at the [Bengaluru protest] venue and were detained and I am now told that there are thousands of people who are protesting… the important thing is every protest must be principled, non-violent and collective.”

Responding to chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s statement on Thursday that those opposing the CAA were spreading false propaganda, Guha said, “Gandhi, 72 years ago, assured protection to 70,000 Muslims of Mewat [region in modern-day Haryana and Rajasthan] that they will not be made to go to Pakistan. The CAA is completely antithetical to the values of Gandhi...This legislation is blatantly discriminatory to my fellow Muslims and is used to intimidate them and harass them, all of us have to stand up against it. The CAA is completely illogical. Many groups have been left out. All this is just headline management to divert attention from a sinking economy…”

Earlier this month, the Parliament passed the CAA to allow undocumented migrants from six communities — Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, and Jain — of three neighbouring countries, to stay in India and get citizenship if they claim religious persecution. This special provision is valid for people who entered the country before December 31, 2014. The law specifically leaves out undocumented migrants who are Muslim and has been critiqued by protesters across the country for being discriminatory.

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