NEW DELHI: The peaceful and organised protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and NPR at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh seems to have found an echo in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, Gaya in Bihar and West Bengal’s Kolkata.
Thousands of women have started a sit-in protest at the Mansoor Ali Khan Park in protest against the discriminatory CAA-NRC-NPR.
What initially seemed to be a one-day protest has been continuing for four days now.
In UP’s Pragyaraj
More than 5,000 women, men and children are camping at the park in Prayagraj, braving the freezing temperatures.
“Yes, we have been inspired by Shaheen Bagh. If our sisters can protest there, we can do it here too,” said Renu Varma, a mother of three.
The women can be seen listening to speeches made by student organisations while others are recording the events on their mobile phones.
“I just want to say that we will be here for as long as required, till someone from the government speaks to us,” said Fatima, an octogenarian who has joined the protest.
Others nod in agreement and say that the protest will be called off only after a dialogue with a government representative.
Anjali, a student of Allahabad University, is not affiliated to any political or student outfit but stands with a poster that says, “Ham ab bhi chup rahe to hamare liye koi kuch bhi nahin bolega (If we keep mum, then no one will speak for us”.
Kamini Gupta, a homemaker, has come to join the protest, leaving her two children in the care of her husband.
Shehla, another homemaker said: “The Prime Minister says this NRC is a rumour, but then why is it happening in Assam? We are forever being made to stand in queues. This time, we shall fight for our rights.”
Celebrates ‘Sankranti’
The protesters on Tuesday celebrated ‘Makar Sankranti’ by cooking ‘khichdi’ at the protest venue itself and sharing it among themselves.
Some women even went for a holy dip at the Sangam and returned to get their faces painted with the tricolour.
It may be recalled that around 20 persons had lost their lives in last month’s violent protests related to the citizenship law.
In Bihar’s Gaya
Since 29 December, hundreds of people have been holding a peaceful protest in the Shanti Bagh locality of Gaya against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and NPR.
Men and women are on indefinite sit in at site where statues of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar are seen at the protest site.
In Kolkata
Like the Shaheen Bagh protest, demonstrations by women in Kolkata’s sprawling Park Circus Maidan have been going on since January 7.
Here are a few visuals from the Park Circus agitation.