In-Depth | Shaheen Bagh protest: 24x7 sit-in, ‘Dabang Dadis’ and a resolve to protect the Constitution

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Protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) snowballed into a pan-India movement in December 2019, following what transpired at a demonstration held by students of New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University.

The student protest there had turned violent with DTC buses being set on fire and private vehicles being damaged in South Delhi. The university claims that the arson was carried out by outsiders, not its students. Later that evening on December 15, the university virtually turned into a battlefield as Delhi Police entered the campus and allegedly used force, leading to students as well as some police personnel getting injured.

The police detained many students, who were all released in the early hours of the following day.

The same day, police had also entered the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and allegedly assaulted students. About 60 students were reportedly injured.

These student protests were against the amended citizenship law. According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be eligible for Indian citizenship. The law excludes Muslims.

Those opposing the amended law say it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA, along with the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), is intended to target India’s Muslim community.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted people from the three neighbouring countries and not take away citizenship from anyone.

The visuals and reports of violence coming out of Jamia and Aligarh, led to solidarity marches from university students across the country. These incidents were a catalyst for this movement.

A day earlier, just over a dozen local women had started a small protest against CAA, nationwide NRC and the National Population Register (NPR) in New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. As days progressed, hundreds of locals joined in. Soon, the agitation turned into a 24x7, peaceful sit-in.

The protest is largely being led by Muslim women, many of whom are being accompanied by their children. Even though men are participating, they have stayed on the sidelines.

Remember, all this has transpired through New Delhi’s harsh winter conditions and has gone on for over a month now. This included the national capital’s coldest December day in 199 years.

While the nation ushered in the New Year, protesters at Shaheen Bagh sang the national anthem at the stroke of midnight.

On January 15, hundreds of Sikhs from Punjab joined protest. The Sikh community members came from Moga, Barnala, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangroor districts as farmers' body Kisan Union (Ekta) (Ugraha) extended its support to the protesters.

They also started cooking and sent up a langar — the traditional community kitchen of Sikhs — to serve the protesters.

"Now they (the government) will get envious seeing the solid unity of Sikhs with Muslims and Hindus here (Shaheen Bagh). And this is just one step outside our home, the full journey will be completed when the government repeals this law," Jagjeet Singh, who came from Moga, told news agency PTI in a mix of Punjabi and Hindi.

"Guru Gobind Singh ji taught us that we must oppose oppression wherever we see it and that is our motivation to join this fight," he added.

Delhi: 'Langar' being prepared in #ShaheenBagh where people have been sitting on a protest for last one month against #CAA and #NRC pic.twitter.com/Qo4oUYnK4S

— ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2020

A striking element of this protest is that it appears to be a leaderless movement. Most of these protesters are common citizens, and middle and old-aged women.

‘Dabang Dadis’

Three elderly women — now popularly called the 'Dabang Dadis (fearless grandmothers)' of Shaheen Bagh — have been at the core of the protest. They have spent over a month at the centrestage.

Asked why they were protesting, the oldest woman among the three, Asma Khatun, told NDTV, "Ask (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi why we are protesting."

"Why did we have to see a day like this? That I will have to sit in protest? I am against CAA," Asma said.

When asked why she wanted the law to be revoked, Asma said: "He wants us to furnish documents to prove citizenship? There are so many people in this country who have no papers. Many lose their papers to natural calamities like floods and rain. Where will they get there documents from? I dare Modi to name seven generations of his family. I will name nine."

‘Won’t move half-an-inch’

Two individuals from Jamia Nagar — 29-year-old Zainul Abidin and 50-year-old Mehrunissa — have been on an indefinite hunger strike against CAA and NRC.

Abidin, a social activist, told The Wire that “nobody from the current government or administration has paid any heed” to him. His siblings have reportedly been students at Jamia Millia Islamia University.

Abidin has said he is agitating against the way the Delhi Police treated students who were raising their voice against the government’s policies.

Social activist Mehrunissa, who works at the Jama Masjid canteen, told the news portal that she is protesting to show women’s strength.

“If Amit Shah says he will not move an inch on CAA and NRC, we say we will not move half-an-inch for the sake of this resistance,” Mehrunissa told The Wire.

Demonstrators attend a protest against the new citizenship law at Shaheen Bagh. (Image: Reuters)

There are others who have stayed put at Shaheen Bagh for days and weeks. 50-year-old mother Bahro Nisa, a shopkeeper from New Delhi, has even quit her job to participate in the protest.

"They (government) tried to stifle the voices of our children," Nisa told CNN. "So, as mothers, we decided to stand up."

Nisa has also been on a hunger strike for two weeks. She told CNN that she will not eat until NRC is withdrawn and CAA is rolled back.

"I am ready to die for this. So many people have died for this already," she said. "If they roll back the bill, we will leave."

As a tribute to those who died during anti-CAA protests across the country, demonstrators have erected a replica of India Gate. Just like the names of 13,000 servicemen are inscribed on India Gate, protesters have inked names of fellow citizens who lost their lives since the anti-CAA agitation began.

At least 32 people have died in relation to anti-CAA protests so far, mainly in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

On January 12 — a Sunday — number of people at the protest site swelled to multiple thousands. Demonstrators held a 'sarva dharma sambhava' multi-faith prayer.

The ceremony, where there was a traditional Hindu-style 'hawan' and chants of Sikh 'kirtan', saw participants also reading out the Preamble of the Constitution and taking oath to preserve its "socialist, secular" values.

"Scriptures from the Gita, the Bible and the Quran were read, and Gurbani held. Then the Preamble of the Constitution was also read out by people from varying faiths who are supporting this movement," Syed Taseer Ahmed, one of the initial organisers of the protest, said.

The concept of ‘sarv dharm sambhav (equal respect for all religions or peaceful co-existence of all religions)’ was popularised by Mahatma Gandhi during India's freedom struggle against the British rule, to promote interfaith harmony.

Political leaders hijacking the protest?

A number of political leaders have also visited the protest site. On January 12, Congress leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor visited the venue and expressed his support.

The former Union minister said CAA was “discriminatory” and betrays ideals of unity that Mahatma Gandhi stood for.

“The CAA betrays the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for the unity of the nation; the unity of Hindus and Muslims. India, which Mahatma Gandhi wanted to see, will not be the India after the introduction of religion in the CAA,” Tharoor said.

Glimpses of today’s crowds at the three #CAA_NRC_Protests I addressed. Let there be no doubt, this is a people’s upsurge, going well beyond any political party. We should applaud the courage &determination of ordinary people without seeking to appropriate their movement. JaiHind! pic.twitter.com/U2wzwxYQ6o

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 12, 2020

Days later, another Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar went there to show solidarity but ended up sparking another controversy with his "qaatil (killer)" comment while addressing the gathering.

While addressing the crowd, he alluded to a line from a famous patriotic verse — “Dekhna hai zor kitna bazuye qaatil mein hai”.

Though he did not quote the poem verbatim, he said: “We will find out who is stronger – us (the protesters) or the ‘qaatil’ (killer)”.

He said the BJP government stormed to power by promising “sabka saath, sabka vikas (everybody's support, everybody's progress)”, but was now ensuring “sabka saath, sabka vinaash (everybody's support, everybody's destruction)”.

"The government has brought out CAA and NRC to distract the public's attention from the real issue, which is its failure to arrest the downfall of the economy. But the courageous women of Shaheen Bagh has told them that they cannot fool the people anymore," he added.

He also praised demonstrators for protesting without the support of any political party.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad — who was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in connection with a case of violence during an anti-CAA protest in New Delhi’s Daryaganj area — was restrained by the same court from visiting Shaheen Bagh.

Noted psephologist and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav was also among those who visited the protesters.

Political leaders visiting the protest site has been seen by some as an attempt to hijack a people’s movement and have warned that it could be counterproductive.

Attempts to move protesters

The Shaheen Bagh protest has its share of critics, with many pointing out that the demonstration has been inconveniencing commuters travelling between Noida and other parts of the national capital.

While sticking to non-violent forms of resistance, demonstrators have blocked a key road in the Kalindi Kunj area, which connects Delhi and Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

BJP has also taken a note of the protest happening in the poll-bound national capital. Its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari tweeted a video appealing protesters to call off their agitation. He also attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "ignoring plight of lakhs of people facing inconvenience because of the protests".

"I am making this video because I am distressed... Lakhs of people in the city are facing inconvenience every day because of protests at Shaheen Bagh. They are completing a 25-minute journey in two-three hours," Tiwari said.

Tiwari said Kejriwal should have urged for the protest to be called off “but he is apparently glad that people are facing inconvenience.”

The BJP leader also appealed to the police to "convince people in Shaheen Bagh to call off the protest" and urged protesters to not believe in rumours.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are pictured next to a barricade at the Shaheen Bagh protest site in New Delhi, India on January 14. (Image: Reuters)

After Delhi High Court put the onus on the police to manage traffic on January 14, the protesters agreed to help ease congestion on the arterial road but refused to leave.

Hina Ashraf, a 30-year-old protester, told ThePrint, “Just like we have been making way for ambulances all this while, we can make way for school buses too. We are open to a discussion. But we won’t move until the CAA-NRC are scrapped.”

In return, the police have said they will not use force to evict them.

Shaheen Bagh has inspired similar sit-ins across the country including those in Prayagraj, Gaya, Nagpur and Kolkata.

The question remains — what is the endgame? Protesters have said they will not budge until CAA is withdrawn. But their larger goal is to save the constitutional rights of fellow citizens, irrespective of their religion. With the Centre having shown no sign of relenting on CAA, the future course of the Shaheen Bagh protest remains blur.