Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

image

Shaheen Bagh Protest

About Shaheen Bagh Protest

Facebook IconLinkedIN Icon

What is Shaheen Bagh Protest

The Shaheen Bagh protest is an ongoing demonstration, led mostly by women, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). With the number of protestors reaching as high as 100,000, the Shaheen Bagh protest has become one of the longest peaceful protests of its magnitude in modern India. Carried out by women, the ‘leaderless’ Shaheen Bagh sit-in is often referred to by the supporters of the protest as a site of modern-day Satyagraha.
 
Where is Shaheen Bagh located?
 
Shaheen Bagh is situated along the banks of the Yamuna and is the southernmost colony of Okhla in New Delhi. The area connects places like Noida, Nehru Place, Okhla, Jasola and Jamia Nagar.
 
Shaheen Bagh protests
 
Protests at Shaheen Bagh began from December 15, 2019, three days after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in both Houses of Parliament and the police intervention that followed against students at Jamia Millia Islamia. It has become the longest ongoing protest against CAA, NRC and National Population Register (NPR).
 
What is CAA?
 
On December 12, 2019, the Citizenship amendment Bill (CAB) became the CAA after being passed by Parliament. It provides for the grant of Indian citizenship to those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who migrated from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan on or before December 31, 2014. The Act has drawn opposition across the country as it omits Muslims in the list of communities considered for the grant of citizenship.
 
Who are participating in the Shaheen Bagh protest?
 
The Shaheen Bagh protest, which began with only 10-20 women, later attracted thousands others. It has since become a 24x7 protest at the site by students, professionals, activists, Muslim women, children, lawyers and several other people from all walks of life. Elderly women aged over 80 and 90 years have also joined the protest.
 
How are people protesting at Shaheen Bagh?
 
Shaheen Bagh, once a little unknown locality, has witnessed an explosion of art, including posters, photos, paintings and graffiti, with ideas from students, local residents and artists. A tent has been set up to house the women protesters and their children. A bus stop has been converted into a library so that people could read books to understand the Indian Constitution, racism, fascism, revolution, oppression and various other social issues.
 
A mini replica of India Gate has been installed with names of those killed during the anti-CAA protests across India. A 40-foot iron-welded structure in the shape of India’s map has also erected by protesters, with "We the people of India reject CAA-NPR-NRC" written on it.
 
Every day, there are speeches, lectures and poetry. Inter-faith prayers are held and scriptures from the Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran have been read at the site previously. Sikh volunteers have also served langars to protestors. On January 26, 2020, the protesters celebrated the Republic Day by unfurling the tricolour at Shaheen Bagh.
 
The sit-in protest has received worldwide attention and been covered extensively by the press, both national and international.
 
The controversy around the Shaheen Bagh protest
 
In the campaign for the Delhi Assembly election, the opposition of CAA, especially at the Shaheen Bagh protest, has been a much-talked-about issue, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) using it to attack one another. While campaigners of the BJP, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, have referred to the Shaheen Bagh protest as a law-and-order issue backed by the ruling AAP and tried to label the protestors as anti-nationals, the AAP has desisted from taking sides. While Shah has repeatedly tried to link the protest with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP, Kejriwal has maintained that Shah himself is responsible for law and order in the national capital. Since Delhi is a Union Territory, its police and intelligence machinery come under the purview of the Union home ministry.
 
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has in his public speeches claimed that Shaheen Bagh is “offering a platform for the anti-India gangs”. Among other leaders of the BJP who have faced the Election Commission action for making inflammatory speeches involving Shaheen Bagh and other anti-CAA protests are West Delhi Member of Parliament Parvesh Verma and Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said in an election rally that the ongoing anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh and other localities were a 'political experiment' and not a coincidence.
 
Previously, the BJP IT Cell head, Amit Malviya, had claimed that the women at Shaheen Bagh were paid Rs 500 to Rs 1,200 a day, along with the promise of refreshments, by the Congress party to stage protests at the venue. Some other politicians have also tried to paint the protestors as anti-national, pro-Pakistani, and supporters of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
 
Blocking of road
 
Protestors at Shaheen Bagh have blocked the road connecting Noida to Kalindi Kunj, causing inconvenience to travellers and students. Some people have been demanding the opening of the road and removal of barricades from the roads.
 
Violence at Shaheen Bagh
 
On February 1, 2020, a man claiming to be a Hindu fundamentalist entered the barricaded area at Shaheen Bagh and opened fire near the stage where people were protesting. However, there was no casualty and the miscreant was taken into custody.
 

Latest Updates on Shaheen Bagh Protest

Musk says Twitter's decision to permanently ban former US President Donald Trump 'not correct'

Updated On: 10 May 2022 | 11:29 PM IST

Twelve activists had filed a review petition on the October 2020 ruling of the top court terming the anti-citizenship law protests held at Shaheen Bagh to be illegal

Updated On: 13 Feb 2021 | 12:33 PM IST

The farmers blocking access to the national capital, causing vegetable prices to shoot up, seem to be getting the 'kid-glove' treatment. Those participating in other recent protests were not as lucky

Updated On: 11 Dec 2020 | 1:43 PM IST

SC held the Shaheen Bagh protest no longer remained the "sole and empowering voice of women", as the presence of various groups of protesters had possibly resulted in them acting at cross-purposes

Updated On: 07 Oct 2020 | 7:41 PM IST

At the beginning of the hearing the bench queried the petitioners if they were willing to withdraw the plea. One of the petitioners replied that they were not

Updated On: 21 Sep 2020 | 3:51 PM IST

A movement led by medical students, resident doctors and research scientists, PMSF has a simple agenda.

Updated On: 13 Mar 2020 | 9:23 PM IST

The women, staging the protest for nearly three months, said the support is encouraging

Updated On: 09 Mar 2020 | 7:34 AM IST

The interlocutors lauded women for maintaining peace despite the violence that recently rocked other parts of Delhi

Updated On: 06 Mar 2020 | 3:13 PM IST

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would move 'The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill, 2020, for consideration. Stay tuned for LIVE updates on Parliament session in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Updated On: 06 Mar 2020 | 3:10 PM IST

Normalcy seems to be returning in the city with over 98 per cent attendance recorded in the class 12 board exam held in violence-affected areas during the day

Updated On: 06 Mar 2020 | 2:47 PM IST

The police deployment has come after a fringe right-wing group, Hindu Sena, gave a call to clear the Shaheen Bagh road on March 1

Updated On: 06 Mar 2020 | 3:09 PM IST

There were some areas of normalcy in the riot-hit localities of northeast Delhi with shops opening

Updated On: 02 Mar 2020 | 8:30 PM IST

The bench made it clear that the report will not be shared with the petitioners or the lawyers representing the Centre and Delhi Police at this stage

Updated On: 24 Feb 2020 | 6:15 PM IST

The women, carrying the tricolour and raising slogans of 'aazadi', said they would not move from the site till the Centre revokes the CAA

Updated On: 23 Feb 2020 | 2:14 PM IST

Restrictions have been imposed on the Kaindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass

Updated On: 22 Feb 2020 | 6:14 PM IST

Advocates Sanjay Hedge and Sadhana Ramachandran, the SC-appointed interlocutors, were not willing to start the discussion in the presence of media

Updated On: 20 Feb 2020 | 5:59 PM IST

The protesters have been on a sit-in against the new citizenship law for over two months

Updated On: 19 Feb 2020 | 7:14 PM IST

The famous grandmothers or 'dadis' of Shaheen Bagh welcomed the decision saying they now expect genuine mediation with the government

Updated On: 17 Feb 2020 | 11:49 PM IST

After the first few rounds of counting, Singh was leading by 194 votes, but subsequently, Khan took the pole position

Updated On: 12 Feb 2020 | 2:01 AM IST

What explains the fact that after a four-month-old child met with an untimely death his protesting parents attributed it to "supreme" sacrifice?

Updated On: 11 Feb 2020 | 9:28 PM IST