- Title: Biryani and steaming tea: Inside a sit-in protest on an Indian highway
- Date: 24th December 2019
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS ON BLOCKED ROAD IN SHAHEEN BAGH NEIGHBOURHOOD VARIOUS OF WOMEN SERVING TEA TO OTHERS AT THE GATHERING PROTESTERS CHANTING BOYS SITTING ON FENCE INDIAN SOCIAL ACTIVIST SYEDA HAMEED ADDRESSING CROWD WOMEN PROTESTERS CHANTING NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 22, 2019) (REUTERS) TYRE BURNING IN MIDDLE OF ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (English) RESEARCH SCHOLAR AND KEY ORGANISER OF PROTESTS IN SHAHEEN BAGH AREA OF NEW DELHI, SHARJEEL, SAYING: "So, we don't exactly know who did what, but everything organically came into place. This is what we have already achieved. But what we intend to achieve is to inspire communities across India, who are against this act, that they block their own cities, so that India comes to a halt." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE FRYING AND MAKING 'PURI' (INDIAN BREAD) PEOPLE COOKING FOOD FOR PROTESTERS PROTESTERS ON BLOCKED ROAD PROTESTERS BEING SERVED RICE DISH VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS QUEUED UP TO RECEIVE FOOD PROTESTERS BEING SERVED FOOD ON BLOCKED ROAD WOMEN PROTESTERS BEING SERVED FOOD PROTESTERS EATING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi and English) KEY ORGANISER AND PERSON HANDLING FINANCES OF PROTESTS HAPPENING IN SHAHEEN BAGH AREA OF NEW DELHI, SIDDHARTH SAXENA, SAYING: "There are thousands of people here (at the protest) and everyone is contributing and they (the contributors) are not revealing their names. They don't want to show their faces or tell their names. This is the best thing ...you can see. Also, food is being served here for thousands of people and no one knows who is providing it. They also want to be in the dark, they don't want to show their faces. So, you can see that this is the beauty of this protest." PROTESTERS PREPARING FOR THE PROTEST, CARRYING SPEAKER AND PLACARDS PROTEST UNDERWAY WOMEN PROTESTERS SEATED PROTESTERS GATHERED IN FRONT OF STAGE
- Embargoed: 7th January 2020 14:05
- Keywords: Citizenship Amendment Bill India Muslim Narendra Modi New Delhi Pakistan Protest Religion Shaheen bagh Violence
- Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001BBC2WCN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:In a working-class corner of southern Delhi, a nearly kilometre-long stretch of a wide, six-lane highway that connects India's capital city to a burgeoning suburb has been blockaded for 10 days.
A crowd of several hundred - the number ebbs and flows - has taken over the stretch, staging the occupation to protest against a new citizenship law and a proposed citizens register that has brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets across the country.
Many men and women, some of them in Muslim burqa robes, and accompanied by children, spend their entire day and often nights here, eating, sleeping, praying, singing - all in protest.
India has been rocked by demonstrations since December 12, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that provides non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who moved here before 2015 a pathway to Indian citizenship.
Some of these protests have turned violent, leaving at least 21 people dead in clashes with police.
But Shaheen Bagh's occupation is entirely non-violent. It is intricately organised, masterminded by two young engineers trained at the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Aasif Mujtaba and Sharjeel, who gave only one name.
From the maze-like, Muslim-dominated neighbourhood that flanks one side of the highway, a volunteer group of more than 100 men and women run the site, working in shifts and providing everything from crowd-control and food to bedding and medicines.
"What we intend to achieve is to inspire communities across India, who are against this act, that they block their own cities, so India comes to a halt," said Sharjeel.
Siddharth Saxena, an accountant from a Hindu family, is one of the handful handling the occupation's money.
Local residents have entrusted him with 10,000 Indian rupees ($140), most of which have gone on banners and stationery, he said.
But many times that amount has come via donations made in kind, including dozens of mattresses, an assortment of tables that form the foundation of the stage and endless cups of steaming tea that provide warmth on cold winter days.
As the occupation draws on, both Mujtaba and Sharjeel are aware of the risks they face, the possibility of legal action and even their careers getting derailed. But both seem to have accepted the consequences.
(Production: Anushree Fadnavis, Sunil Kataria) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
