New Delhi, March 14, 2020: The Delhi Police on March 24 cleared the Shaheen Bagh protest site amid the coronavirus outbreak, bringing curtains down on the three-month-old agitation led by Muslim women against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.

A total of nine protesters, including six women, were detained and taken to a nearby police station, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) R P Meena told reporters.

People were requested to vacate the site as a lockdown has been imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, action was taken when they refused to move, Meena said.

About 50 protesters, including men, were at the venue when it was vacated. “Most of the protesters vacated the site after police made an appeal but a few refused. So, police detained them,” a volunteer at the site requesting anonymity said.

A decision about resuming the protest will be taken after the coronavirus situation comes under control, he added.

On March 22, during the ‘Janta curfew’, only five women were at the site while others had left their slippers as a symbol of solidarity.

The women were taking all precautions amid the coronavirus outbreak and sanitizers had been arranged at the venue to ensure utmost hygiene, the volunteer said.

Unidentified men had hurled “inflammable substance” near the site on March 22 but none of the five women protesters present there were injured.

Meanwhile, the protest site at South Delhi’s Hauz Rani too was cleared after the Delhi Police made an appeal on March 24.

The protest site was cleared at around 7 am, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur.

Only two-three protesters were staging a protest against the newly amended citizenship law at the venue. After we made an appeal, they left the spot, he said.

Like the protest itself, this invoked strong reactions on social media.

The hashtag #ShaheenBaghEmpty was one of the top trends on Twitter on March 24.

Shaheen Bagh – a Muslim neighborhood in the city – captured the imagination of many Indians.

It was one of the few times anyone can remember India’s Muslim women coming out in such large numbers and leading a movement of this nature, although many others from different religions have sat alongside them in solidarity. They have read each other the preamble of India’s constitution, made speeches reaffirming their citizenship and sung patriotic songs.

Many praised the tenacity of the protesters, calling them inspirational and thanking them for their perseverance.
Several petitions have also been filed in courts which argue that the law is illegal, they claim that it grants citizenship on the basis of religion, which goes against the country’s secular values enshrined in its constitution. Those challenging it include political parties, civil society and Muslim groups.

But the protest was also criticized and most recently it was the target of a vitriolic state election campaign by the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP has accused the protesters of being “traitors” to India because of their opposition to the CAA, which offers amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from three neighboring Muslim-majority countries.

Many of the BJP’s supporters also subscribe to the view that the protests were unpatriotic.

Sources: bbc.com, news18.com