Grannies of Shaheen Bagh, Rohith Vemula’s mother unfurl tricolour

Three prominent anti-CAA women protesters, fondly known as the ‘dadis’ (grandmothers) of Shaheen Bagh along with the mother of late student activist and dalit icon Rohith Vemula, hoisted the tricolour at the protest venue on Sunday to mark the country’s 71st Republic Day.

Rohith’s mother Radhika Vemula was also accompanied by former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Umar Khalid. They sang the national anthem along with thousands of people, including women and children who had gathered at Shaheen Bagh to celebrate the occasion.

Vadgam Assembly Constituency (Gujarat) MLA Jignesh Mevani was also present during the flag hoisting ceremony. The protesters, who are opposing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and a proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), have been staging a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh for more than a month.

The protesters said they will continue their agitation until the government decides to roll back CAA and NRC.

Also read: More Shaheen Baghs coming up across India: Nandita Das on CAA stir

From children to women, many held the national flag and sang patriotic songs to celebrate the spirit of oneness, equality and secularism. They chanted the “CAA se Azaadi, NRC se Azaadi, BJP se Azaadi (freedom from CAA, NRC and BJP)” while raising other slogans against the CAA and the NRC.

“We do not want a prime minister who cannot listen to our grievance and address our concerns. Why has the prime minister or any of his representatives addressed us yet? Why didn’t he visit us and explain the CAA and NRC?,” asked 75-year-old Sarwari, one of the dadis, who has been part of the protest for over a month now.

“This is our nation and our forefathers have contributed in the freedom struggle of this country. Today, if we fail to protect the Constitution and the secular fabric of this country, we will fail to save the future of our nation,” said 82-year-old Bilkis.

Recalling violence at the Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU, she asked if this was how the government was promoting the, “beti bachao beti padhao” concept? “Are our students even safe on their campuses? Was it right to barge inside the campus and assault students in this manner? Is this beti bachao beti padhao?” she asked. Ninety-year-old Asma Khatoon was also present at the flag hoisting ceremony.

Shaheen, another protester and a resident of Jamia Nagar said, “We will not allow this divide and rule policy to be implemented here. We have been living here in harmony since ages. Today they are trying to divide us on the basis of religion and will follow it up with caste discrimination. We cannot let this happen. And why is the government not visiting us if they are so confident about their stand on CAA and NRC?”

Another protestor, Shahzia, who joined the agitation 15 days ago, said she will continue to protest until there is an assurance from the government on the newly amended act.

Also read: When they came for the children of Shaheen Bagh

“If we do not fight for our rights today, the future generation will question us tomorrow. This fight is not religion centric. It is a common fight to save our nation from the divide-rule policy of the government,” she said.

(With inputs from agencies)