NOTE: THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FRO HUMAN RIGHTS.

A few days back, HfHR tweeted an appeal to the women of Shaheen Bagh to suspend their protests in light of the imminent danger of Corona Virus. We then heard that they had consulted with health professionals and had agreed to take all recommended precautions, like washing hands and using hand sanitizers, wearing masks/duppattas, and practicing social distancing by limiting the protesters to no more than 35 at a time. At that point, we felt that if they had made such an ‘informed decision’ to continue with due caution, we must respect their decision and wish them all the best.

But today, the danger of uncontrolled spread of the virus in India seems more and more likely and we join numerous well-wishers of Shaheen Bagh to renew our call to the protesters to suspend the protests and to go home to their families, so they can all live to see another day and fight the virus of the citizenship laws with renewed vigour. We will all be there with them until they achieve their objectives. Only such a courageous lead by the women of Shaheen Bagh will be able to convince protesters across the country (e.g. in Chennai) to call off any marches/gatherings for now.

Please see the detailed report from our fried Yousuf Saeed a few days back when he went to Shaheen Bagh to convince them to call off the protest. What came across to us is the tone of fatalism and martyrdom among some women, who were saying that they would rather die of the virus than become stateless under the citizenship laws. Whether that fear is rational or not is not the issue today. All it takes to end the stalemate is for the government of Modi-Shah is to immediately declare — in writing — that all the concerns of the protesters will be addressed, and that the following actions will be taken:
1. Eliminate the religious test in the CAA;
2. Scrap the NPR exercise altogether, as it has nothing to do with either the census or the NRC (per the government’s latest statements);
3. Scrap the plan for a nation-wide NRC, period; and
4. Delay the decennial census.

This is no time for politics and egos to come in the way of doing what’s right for the people of India. Wisdom of the leaders today can save millions of Indian lives.

Yousuf Saeed

Thu, Mar 19, 2:49 AM (2 days ago)

https://anokhasheher.blogspot.com/2020/03/shaheen-bagh-needs-healing.html

After observing Delhi's Shaheen bagh protest site for last 3 months, I (along with a couple of friends) tried to make some more intervention yesterday. I was invited to speak to the audience from the stage and did so for a few minutes, followed by a heated argument with angry volunteers backstage, and some reasonable dialogue with at least two more group of volunteers who have been important players since the first day. Here are some observations:

(1) We went with the assumption that the people still sitting here (and waiting for the govt’s reversal of CAA) are silly and stubborn – they don’t realize the seriousness of the threat of COVID epidemic. Secondly, the purpose of Shaheen bagh is almost over now – they’ve made their point and should wind up the site, even if there was no health hazard.

(2) In my short speech from the stage, I couldn’t openly talk about winding up (I would surely be mobbed if I did). I started by praising their efforts and the fact that Shaheen bagh has become a historic event and an international phenomena etc. I talked about (a) how it is important to move on – to transform this movement into something larger and more effective, and (b) to safeguard our health and lives from Corona epidemic. (Just before my turn, a woman had already made an emotional speech about how we’ll not listen to anyone asking us to leave, and will fight even corona!).

(3) What I have noticed here all through these months: the audience does not listen to your speech if you are not very loud and emotional, if you don’t shout some slogans or sing songs with them, if you don’t vilify the current govt., if you’re not talking in crude, black-and-white terms (rather than subtle/deep issues), if you don’t invoke religious identity, and/or if you are not a celebrity that they recognize. So I probably failed on all those accounts.

(4) Some volunteers who did notice my speech caught up with us at the backstage. These were elderly men and women and sounded very angry. We told them that corona epidemic can be disastrous for this place. The goodwill and the fame they have created with the movement will collapse in one day if even one person gets infected. And the disease may affect the entire Jamia Nagar area with lakhs of people. They immediately ask “what solution do you offer us?” I said stop the protest for a few weeks and resume when it is safer. (I couldn’t tell them that it should be stopped totally). “What’s the guarantee that it will be allowed to be resumed and the people will return?” they kept asking. We said there’s no guarantee of anything right now, we need to save lives first – only then we can protest further. The discussion was not going anywhere and I also had to constantly prove that I am one of them and not an outsider (they were trying to judge me). They are highly suspicious of all outsiders. Finally another group of student volunteers (who ran the book library) took me away from there.

(5) What was clear from this discussion: the protesters who’ve been sitting here 24x7 since December are extremely tired physically and mentally, frustrated, and disheartened. This is especially so since the northeast Delhi pogrom. They were temporarily delighted and relieved after the victory of AAP in the assembly elections. But the February violence (and the arrest of Muslim youth etc.) totally broke their spirit. They feel that not only their hard work has gone waste, but even the AAP govt has ditched them by not doing enough during the riots and not coming to talk with them ever (despite their having literally voted it to power). “No one has come to hear us – even the court interlocutors were puppets. And now, everyone comes to tell us to vacate due to corona – no one talks about the real issues”. I could see the frustration and despair from their tone and tenor. A young Sikh gentleman, Simranjit, who has been staying day and night at Shaheen bagh, was almost in tears while explaining the pain the people are going through here. They are terribly upset and bitter about the lies the mainstream media is telling about Shaheen bagh, pogrom, and about the arrest of Muslims after the riots.

(6) After this group, we met another (sober) group of volunteers including an aspiring local politician (whose photo posters are commonly seen on Jamia Nagar walls). They seemed like the ones who’ve actually been running the show since day One. They agreed to our fears of the corona pandemic and said they’re making arrangements like providing sanitizers, masks etc. besides making people sit in smaller groups on takhts. But even with this group, we didn’t have the courage to talk about winding up the protest for good – it’s something no one is even ready to hear. So, I could only suggest things like “try to reduce the number of people present here – maybe 40-50 in total – ask each one to sit one metre apart etc...” Such advice was still acceptable, and they said we’ll discuss this tonight and think of more measures to keep the disease away. Somehow, ‘asking protesters not to come to the site’ sounded like a no-no. “We can’t ask them not to come - it will send a wrong message”. The thinning of the crowd seems every volunteer’s fear. They have somehow managed to keep everyone together for so long and can’t afford to lose them. I have noticed this worry at other protest sites as well. The protest is like a straw they’re clinging on to in a stormy sea. There’s no way to abandon it.

(7) Religious faith provides people tremendous hope in the times of hopelessness. From the start I have been hearing people say ‘yeh sab Allah kara raha hai’ (all this is being done by Allah). Even today they say, corona will not hurt us – God is with us. I tried to explain that even in Mecca, Medina and Gulf countries they’re closing down mosques and pilgrimages. But two women replied “No, we’ve seen all the videos – the Arab mosques are open again after two days of closing, and people are thronging for prayers”. Some sober volunteers also said God will save us from the virus.

(8) You can’t convince them that their protest has already made its point to the govt. and the world about CAA-NRC etc. To them, Shaheen Bagh’s scope is much bigger than CAA-NRC - they’re protesting against all the atrocities committed by the BJP-RSS govt. in the last few years. In fact, its scope is getting larger by the day, with new horrors being committed each new day. Many protesting women and men are from families of victims of police brutality in UP and Delhi. Now, some are also from the riot-affected northeast Delhi (or at least carrying its memory). For them, the matter has gone far beyond CAA-NRC – they see it as a life-and-death situation. In such a scenario, corona epidemic seems a minor distraction to them. “If we have faced so much hardship – killings, burning of our property, attack on our children in Jamia/Aligarh, arrest of innocent Muslims, and no punishment to the actual perpetrators, what damage will corona do to us. Even if it does, so be it. We’re ready to die”. 

(9) We may think that they’re going through extreme mental trauma which needs counseling and psychotherapy. But who will come to provide this therapy. The least the Delhi govt could have done is to provide measures to stop the corona epidemic. Or ensure that their protest site will be kept intact if they leave temporarily. But nothing from any government. All the visitors come and ask them to wind up due to corona. This irritates them more than anything else.

(10) Everyone appreciates the support of secular/liberal individuals visiting regularly – it gives them a lot of hope. But they also know that most ‘outsiders’ come temporarily and can’t stand with them for 24 hours. Ultimately, it seems to them, it is their struggle and they have to fight it themselves.  

(11) The more serious volunteers are definitely thinking of ways to reduce the disease threat. Some of them are open to take the protest to the next level rather than just the sit-ins. But currently, most of them are tired and don’t see a clear road ahead. Closing the protest is not an option for them. 

(12) To cut the story short: COVID threat is real. But the agony of the protesters is real too. They need practical ideas for an alternative to current sit-in without compromising on health and without leaving the occupied space. All those who advice on ending the Shaheen bagh protest from a distance, must come and observe the situation on the ground, talk to the volunteers, provide some sort of healing, give them fresh ideas, help in improving hygiene and mental health. Maybe you’ll be found suspicious in the beginning, you’ll be fiercely debated with. But Shaheen bagh needs healers, not just advisors.

(19 March 2020)Photo by Nazar Imam Khan.