New Delhi: For Union home minister Amit Shah, the best reason for Delhi voters to choose BJP is to vote against Shaheen Bagh.
A protest begun by a small group of women on December 15, 2019, under an open winter sky in Shaheen Bagh, has defied many predictions that it would fizzle out. Six weeks in, it has become the symbolic heart of the pro-constitution protests sweeping the country. So much so that India’s home minister, as well as other Union ministers, are now grappling directly with its challenge to the CAA-NRC agenda.
On the morning of Republic Day, January 26, the public expression of support for Shaheen Bagh hit a new high. As crowds thronged to the site of the protests, demonstrators sang the national anthem and read the preamble of the constitution.
#WATCH Delhi: A huge crowd of protesters, opposing #CitizenshipAmendmentAct, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), gather at Shaheen Bagh to celebrate #RepublicDay . Former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid is also present at the spot. pic.twitter.com/KA6oElpzwr
— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2020
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
The tricolour was hoisted at the protest venue on Sunday by the three elderly women who are more prominently known as the ‘dadis of Shaheen Bagh’ and Radhika Vemula the mother of Rohith Vemula, a former student of the University of Hyderabad who died by suicide in January 2016.
The Dadis of Shaheen Bagh , Rohit Vemula and Junaid’s mothers together hoisted the national flag at Shaheen Bagh in the presence of thousands of people . Watch this as I report…#RepublicDay #RepublicDayShaheenBagh pic.twitter.com/lmgAIr00DW
— Zafar Abbas (@zafarabbaszaidi) January 26, 2020
They were joined by Umar Khalid, Jignesh Mevani and JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh.
(L-R) Umar Khalid, Radhika Vemula, Sanghapali Aruna Lohitakshi and Jignesh Mevani at Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
Shaheen Bagh celebrates the Republic, Shaheen Bagh reclaims the Republic!
Happy Republic Day everyone! #IndiaAgainstCAA_NRC_NPR pic.twitter.com/g6bTxochoV
— Umar Khalid (@UmarKhalidJNU) January 26, 2020
What a evening !
Republic Day at Shaheen Bagh !@ShaheenBagh_ pic.twitter.com/gmR9nsJ7NL— Aishe (ঐশী) (@aishe_ghosh) January 26, 2020
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
#RepublicDay
The Dadis of Shaheen Bagh , Rohit Vemula and Junaid’s mothers together hoisted the national flag at Shaheen Bagh in the presence of thousands of people .
#RepublicDayShaheenBagh pic.twitter.com/nEj7sE4TJO— Anwar Shabab (@AnwarShabab1) January 26, 2020
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
Drawing inspiration from New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh protest, hundreds of women have decided to sit on a road in south Mumbai’s Nagpada area after 26 January against the CAA-NRC-NPR. Holding placards and raising slogans against the CAA-NRC, NPR, the women sat down on the Morland road outside Arabia Hotel on Sunday late night.
Maharashtra: Women hold protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) in Madanpura, Mumbai Central. pic.twitter.com/ZcwFzd0T82
— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2020
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Vedika Singhania
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Raghu Karnad/The Wire
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Raghu Karnad/The Wire
Shaheen Bagh on Republic Day. Photo: Raghu Karnad/The Wire