Anju Grover/21-01-2020
Zeba visited protest site at Shaheen Bagh on Sunday afternoon with her six year old child to show her support to 5000 plus protesters, both men and women of all ages and their wards. A Dentist brought his ailing mother to Shaheen Bagh to offer support to the protesting women and men. Dentist:s mother insisted on visiting haheen Bagh a day before her eye surgery. Aseema Naseem comes to take part in protest, daily, with her husband who runs a shop in Delhi’s walled city area.
What was common among them was the desire to stand by protesting women, range from 18 to 85 years. Some of protesting women were in burqa while others were wearing cap and shawl to beat the biting cold on Sunday afternoon.Some were present with their husbands and children. The number of protesters increased to roughly around 6000 by 4pm. More and more people were visiting Shaheen Back on Sunday.
It has been more than one month that women have been sitting on protest. Despite biting cold, these women and men have been sitting on dharna to oppose CAA. The arrangements for food, water, medicine, lights and blankets have been arranged by people, activists and local leaders etc.
Explaining the reason behind protest against CAA, Aseema alleged that the RSS has waited for 70 long years to implement its agenda in the country. The agenda is to target the muslim community and that’s why Citizenship ( Amendment) Act was brought in. Aseema has two sons who have studied in Sardar Patel School in Delhi and one of them has completed his IIM. According to her, her elder son is regularly coming to Shaheen Bagh to take part in the protest . “At the time of partition, we ( our parents and grand parents) had the choice to go to Pakistan but chose Maulana Azad’s India and stayed back. My anscestors were freedom fighters. They chose democracy. We did not go then, we will not go anywhere. We will die here only,” she said.
"There was no need to bring CAA, NRC and NPR. We know the intention of the government and its motive behind CAA, NRC and NPR. Through CAA, the government would allow persecuted minorities to come to India while those who were born here would be deprived of employment opportunities and other things. Where are the jobs for youth?”, asked the Dentist, Aftab Alam and regretted that nobody from the Government has come to speak to us. “ The government should not make the CAA on the basis of religion as it is discriminatory in nature”, said Dentist. Aftab Alam brought his 62 year old mother, Naseem from Okhla to visit the site. Zeba ( 35) housewife, said that her forefathers were buried here and they ( she and her husband) cannot leave India and settle elsewhere.
