Delhiites have rejected those who called us ”traitors, seditionists, rapists,” say Shaheen Bagh, jamia protesters

By Naz Asghar

Feb 11, 2020

New Delhi: Anti-CAA and Anti-NRC protesters in Shaheen Bagh and Jamia on Tuesday hailed the
AAP victory in the Delhi Assembly elections as the win of development politics, and the defeat of the forces which spread ”nothing but lies” about their protest.

”Though we do not owe allegiance to any political party and were not celebrating anyone’s victory, we hail the people of Delhi for defeating those who spread lies about a peaceful and democratic protest and called us traitors, seditionists and rapist,” said 30-year Ehtesham in Shaheen Bagh.

Similar was the sentiment expressed by Asad Ghazi Ansari of NGO Nawa-E-Waqt, a local supporter of Jamia protesters, when he said that it was heartening that the divisive agenda of some political forces has been rejected by the people of Delhi.

”Some forces were trying to project the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protest as anti-national, but people saw through their game. He also wondered why should there be a scare about Muslim refugees, to detect and deport whom the government wants to bring in NRC. After all, it has been the great Indian tradition to embrace all those who came here. All civilised countries in the world have been accepting refugees,” he said.

SM Amir and Farid Narvi, who also live in the Jamia area, said people of the Delhi have voted
for development showing the door to those who wanted to create a Hindu-Muslim divide in the name of Jamia and Shaheeen Bagh.

Vani Akhkhka, a research scholar at Jamia Millia and Saksham, a student of the university, feel that the BJP experiment and expertise in communalising the issues did not work in Delhi because of the high level of awareness among the voters.

” In this election, we have voted for development not for any political party. We have
nothing to do with any political party either. We are agitating here to get our demand
fulfilled,” said a Shaheen Bagh housewife Shaheena, emerging out of a day-long ‘maun brat’
(silent fast) which she and other protesters observed against yesterday’s police lathi-charge on students when they were trying to take out a march up to Parliament.

”In the run up to the Delhi elections, we were called names, we were accused of being bribed
for Rs 500 daily to join the protest, we were called anti-national, but don’t we as citizen of a democratic and free India have the right to protest against a law which not only Muslims but people from all sections of the society feel is unjust?” said another housewife from Shaheen Bagh.

A number of senior BJP leaders, including some Central Ministers and a chief minister, used highly intemperate language against the Jamia and Shaheen Bagh protesters projecting them as anti-nationals
during the Delhi election campaign.

It is about two months since Jamia students, their local supporters and Shaheen Bagh residents have been holding protest against the controversial Citizenship Amendment
Act(CAA) which they call discriminatory and against the Constitution as it makes religion
the basis of giving citizenship. Their fight is also against the proposed NRC as they that it was anti-people as it would require such documents from them as proof of their being citizens of this country as most of the poor and the landless would not be able to furnish.

The protests that broke out in the middle of December in these two areas of Delhi, have spread out in other parts of the country, and demonstrations against the law and NRC have also been held by Indians living abroad.

The protesters in Shaheen Bagh have also blocked a road that connects Sarita Vihar and their
area also to Noida. The Supreme Court is hearing a petition against the blockade of the road.
—India News Stream