Shaheen bhag protest

SHAHEEN BAGH PROTEST 

The Shaheen Bagh protest is an ongoing 24/7 sit-in peaceful protest, led by women, that began with the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in both houses of Parliament on 11 December 2019 and the ensuing police intervention against students at Jamia Millia Islamia who were opposing the Amendment. Protesters have agitated not only on CAA-NRC but also for women safety, rising cost of commodities, increasing unemployment and poverty.Mainly consisting of Muslim women, the protesters at Shaheen Bagh, since 15 December 2019,have blocked a major highway[a] in New Delhi using non-violent resistance for 53 days now as of 6 February 2020. It has now become the longest ongoing continuous protest against CAA-NRC-NPR. 

The leaderless protest now is not only against CAA and police brutality but also against the BJP government in general.The protesters have also supported unions opposing the government's "anti-labour policies" and have protested against recent happenings such as the 2020 JNU attack as well as shown solidarity with Kashmiri Pandits. The barricaded and tented venue has drawn large crowds; The Wire notes that lakhs of protesters have turned up over the days.The Shaheen Bagh protest has inspired similar Shaheen Bagh-style protests across the country, such as in Gaya, Park Circus, Prayagraj, Mumbai and Bengaluru. 

The blockade has also become a campaigning issue for the upcoming 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections; with campaigners promising that if they are voted into power, the blockade will be removed the very next hour or day of the election result. The blocked road affects more than 100,000 vehicles a day with some 25 - 30 minute journeys taking 2 - 3 hours. As the area is also a border point into the capital, thousands of trucks are being diverted to other border points. 

Five petitions have been filed to stop the blockade. The Delhi High Court refused to hear the first two pleas and on 14 January 2020 said this is a police matter. The Delhi Police have said they will use "persuasion" and won't use force to end the blockade. Notably, the protesters are also protesting against police brutality and government apathy. A third petition was filed on 18 January 2020, highlighting the difficulty students are facing, as well as the coming board examinations; the High Court accordingly directed the police to look into it. The matter has also reached the Supreme Court with two pleas being filed.The high court had urged the local authorities to deal with the situation keeping in mind law and order.

Separately, former Delhi MLA Nand Kishore Garg, through his counsel Shashank Deo Sudhi, has filed a petition in the apex court seeking directions to the authorities to remove the protestors from Shaheen Bagh.

Restrictions have been imposed on the Kaindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15 last year due to the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Supreme Court hear pleas against protest : After Delhi election

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court said it would hear the pleas against anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh next week as it did not want to "influence" the Delhi assembly elections by hearing the matter on Friday.

Polls in the national capital will be held on Saturday and the matter will now be heard on Monday.

The Supreme Court, which was supposed to hear the pleas seeking removal of protesters from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh on Friday, will now be doing so on Monday, February 10.

Saying that it did not want to "influence" the Delhi assembly elections by hearing the matter on Friday, the Supreme Court deferred hearing of the Shaheen Bagh plea and scheduled it for Monday.

Voting for the Delhi Assembly election will take place on Saturday and results for the same will be announced on February 11.

"We understand it's an important issue. We will hold a detailed hearing Monday," a Supreme Court bench hearing the matter said.

"We understand there is a problem and we have to see how to resolve it. We will take it up on Monday. We will be in a better position by then," a bench comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said. 

On a lighter note, the court, deferring the petition, said "Let the cat be out of the bag."

When an advocate appearing for one of the petitioners said that voting for Delhi election is scheduled on February 8, the bench noted, "That is exactly why we are saying come on Monday. Why should we influence it?"

The bench also asked the petitioners to come prepared on Monday to argue on why the matter should not be remitted back to the Delhi High Court.

SC Appointed two interlocutors 

Women protester at Shaheen Bagh on Wednesday interacted with two Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors while they stood their ground on not vacating the protest site until the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was revoked by the Centre.

In a nearly two-hour-long interaction between advocates Sanjay Hegde, Sadhana Ramachandran and the protesters, several women, including students, the Shaheen Bagh dadis, voiced their concerns and reservations against the CAA, NPR and the NRC.

Bilkhis Banu, one of the Shaheen Bagh dadis, while addressing the interlocutors said: “We will not move an inch till the law is revoked. When we voted for you [Centre] we were not gaddars [traitors] but now suddenly we are. Don’t forget that we [citizens] managed to send the British away as well. Only a part of the road has been blocked by us while the police have blocked the rest of it. Why is that not being opened?”

 Fatima student, told the interlocutors: “Is inconvenience being cause only to people who are stuck in traffic? What about us — the women, children and elderly protesters who have continued to sit on this road braving the rains and winters? Now you want us to move from here as well. Where do we raise our voices then?”

Before the interlocutors reached the protest site, announcements were made that when a team met the two advocates near the barricades they were told that the protesters would not be addressed in the presence of media, an appeal which was also made later. Even as protesters in unison demanded talks to be held before the media, later they were asked to leave.