Mass protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens have entered their 8th week. They are attracting increasing support within India and abroad, in spite of the lies, slanders, sedition charges and police violence unleashed against the protestors.
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Lakhs of people have come out on the streets in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Chennai, Allahabad, Patna, Guwahati, Bhiwandi, Azamgarh, Nagercoil and many other towns of the country. Students and teachers all over the country have come out in protest against the violence unleashed against the students of Jamia Milia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Indian students in the USA, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and other countries have organised protests in their campuses. Indian immigrants in Europe and North America have organised many protest actions against CAA-NRC and against the violence unleashed by the Indian government on peaceful protests.
Leading spokesmen of the Central Government continue to repeat the lie that their aim is not to deprive any Indian of his or her citizenship. Numerous scholars, journalists and progressive personalities have dared to expose this lie. They have shown how the CAA and NRC, taken together, are aimed at depriving millions of Muslims of their citizenship. They have pointed to the results of implementing the NRC in Assam, where lakhs of poor people who have no property or birth certificates have been denied citizenship. The CAA permits such “illegal immigrants” to apply for Indian citizenship, provided they are not Muslims.
Women and youth of in Delhi have kept up their day and night sit-in protest. Every day, hundreds of people of different religious faiths and from different parts of the country visit this place. They pledge to defend the unity of the people against all attempts to divide them on the basis of their religious beliefs. Inspired by the example of Shaheen Bagh, similar protests have begun in many other parts of the country. These include Ghantaghar in Lucknow, Park Circus in Kolkota, Roshan Bagh in Allahabad, Haldwani in Uttarakhand, Nagpada in Mumbai and Nizamudin in Delhi.
The Central Government is refusing to engage in any discussion with those who are protesting against CAA and NRC. Instead, its leading spokesmen are deliberately spreading the lie that all these mass protests are being sponsored by the enemies of India, working for Pakistan.
In its campaign for the Delhi state elections, the BJP has made the protestors at Shaheen Bagh the main target of attack. Prominent leaders of BJP are repeating the lie that those who are leading this protest belong to the “tukde tukde gang”, meaning that they are allegedly out to break up India. They are spreading Islamophobia, or fear of Muslims, portraying them as agents of Pakistan.
Truth is being turned on its head. It is the party in charge of executive power which is threatening to destroy the unity of the Indian people. Those who are protesting on the streets are doing so in order to defend the unity of people, cutting across religious beliefs. The Central Government is creating a communally charged atmosphere so as to justify using force to suppress the mass protests
The root cause for the dangerous situation being created lies in the inability of the capitalist economic system to provide for the people. The monopoly houses who head the ruling capitalist class are relying on BJP to spread Islamophobia so as to prevent the exploited majority from uniting and fighting for their rights.
People need to exercise great vigilance in this situation. They must not fall prey to the attempts of the ruling clique to divide people on a communal basis and criminalize all forms of dissent. The situation calls on all those who care about the future of India to stand in defence of the right to conscience of all human beings, including the right to oppose unjust and dangerous decisions of the Parliament and the Central Government.
Protests against CAA-NRC continue through-out India
An indefinite day-night dharna was started by women at Ghantaghar in Lucknow to protest against CAA. The UP government tried to break up the dharna. They locked up the toilets in the area so that the women will find it difficult to continue their protest. In the night it confiscated their blankets and food. They filed FIRs against several women. The government is also trying to inflitrate the dharna with agents who will spread anarchy creating a pretext for the state to intervene. However, all these attempts have failed to deter the protesters |
On 16th January a huge demonstration was held in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra against CAA and NRC. More than 2,00,000 people took part in this. Waves of people kept coming from morning to the stadium where the rally was organised. Various people’s organisations including Lok Raj Sangathan and Bhiwandi Jan Sangharsh Samiti as well as several political parties including the Communist Ghadar Party of India had worked for weeks to organise this program. 800 youth had taken up the responsibility to ensure that the program went on smoothly |
A huge march organised against CAA-NRC from St. Paul Cathedral to Gandhi statue on 20th January in Kolkata (above and below) |
Massive demonstration against CAA and NRC on 27th January at Nagarcoil Collectorate in Kanyakumari district (above and below) |
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Students, teachers and ex-students of IIT Bombay demonstrated their opposition to CAA-NRC on 26th January |
The advocates of Supreme Court of India held a demonstration to oppose CAA and NRC on 14th January |
Women have started a day-night protest against CAA and NRC since 12th January at Roshan Bagh in Allahabad. The above photo was taken during the protest on 15th January |
Immediately after the attack on JNU students, women have organised an indefinite day-night protest action against CAA and NRC at the Park Circus Maidaan in Kolkata since 7th January |
Indefinite dharna started on 23rd January in Haldwani, Uttarakhand by women to protest against CAA and NRC |
Hunger strike by students of the Cotton University in Guwahati on 22th January to protest against CAA |
The universities and colleges in the North-East were totally closed on 22nd January to oppose CAA |
Demonstration of women at the Constitution Chowk in Nagpur, Maharashtra on 17th January to protest against CAA and NRC |
Women demonstrate against CAA and NRC at the YMCA grounds in Mumbai on 17th January |
Demonstration against CAA and NRC in the Lohia Maidaan in Margoa town of Goa on 24th January |