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.
By A Correspondent from Shaheen Bagh
Thousands of men, women and children today gathered at Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of nationwide protests against CAA-NRC-NPR, to celebrate India’s 71st Republic Day.
Three octogenarian women, who have become the face of the 40-day-long protest and have since been known as ‘Dabang Dadis’ of Shaheen Bagh, unfurled the Tiranga in the presence of an enthusiastic crowd. Radhika Vemula, mother of Rohith Vemula, and Saira Bano, mother of Hafiz Junaid, were also standing with the grandmothers of Shaheen Bagh while the flag was being hoisted.
Thousands of people sang the National Anthem and vowed to protect the Constitution come what may. People were holding national flags in their hands while many men and women had put on dresses of tricolor.
Since December 15, people of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi have been protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and government move for National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
CAA seeks to give Indian citizenship only to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains and Christians who migrated to India without travel documents from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.
Since CAA was passed by the Parliament on December 11, there have been nationwide protests against the law. In the last one and half months, millions of people have hit streets across the country protesting against CAA-NRC-NPR. Thousands of women are holding round-the-clock sit-in demanding withdrawal of the controversial citizenship law.
More than 140 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against CAA terming it unconstitutional. The apex court has issued notice to the central government and is set to hear the case after four weeks.
In the last one and half months, the round-the-clock and women-led Shaheen Bagh protest has led to similar 24X7 protest against the controversial citizenship law at over 50 places in 34 cities and towns across the country. In Delhi alone, Shaheen Bagh-type protests are being held at 12 places.