The Anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh in the nation’s Capital will definitely go down as one of the iconic fronts of the revolution in Indian history. In fact, people all across the country have been protesting CAA, NRC, NPR and police brutality.
However, these people are not alone. Students from all over the world have joined Indian protesters in demanding the crapping of the CAA and the NRC.
1. New York, USA
The protests in New York were a part of nation-wide protests organised by Coalition to Stop Genocide– an organisation formed by Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, Equity Labs, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha of New York, Black Lives Matter and the Jewish Voice for Peace.
2. Harvard University, Boston, USA
On Republic Day, students of the university in Boston and along with the Indian diaspora protested for 24 hours at Harvard Square in Boston.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Suraj Yengde, a researcher at Harvard University, said:
A lot of times I get tokenised because of my Dalit identity. It becomes almost a vulgarised presentation of Dalit body on a stage. But this protest I feel like I have agency and I am part of a larger dialogue. But I would also hope that now that Dalits are coming for Muslims, there will be reciprocity in future.
3. Indian Embassy, Washington DC, USA
The protesters in the US capital marched to the Indian Embassy to protest against the CAA/NRC.
The brutal crackdown by the government in India on the anti-CAA and anti-NRC protests has created a situation in which women in large numbers have come out on the streets to challenge the divisive-communal-fascist agenda of the government… It gives a hope that democracy and constitution can ultimately be saved by the common people from a government which is bent upon destroying them.
4. San Francisco, USA
According to reports, a protest was also organised outside the Indian consulate in San Francisco.
Indian Americans and people of conscience in the US are seeking accountability from the Hindu nationalist regime that wants to turn Indian Muslims into foreigners and render them stateless.
5. Blackpool, England
Sumeet Bose, a merchant navy officer, who is in town for a short-term course, told India Today:
There aren’t many Indians here. But you don’t need a large number to make your stand clear. If you can find even one person to connect over a common calling, you have your protest.
6. Bern, Switzerland
7. Paris, France
Since the police beatdown of Jamia students inside their own library, anti-CAA/NRC protests have been raging in many parts of Europe as well.
The Telegraph reports one such protest in Paris. Abhishek, a 26-year-old into his sixth year in France.spoke to them said:
When we heard of CAA being passed in Parliament, we started with protests on a small scale every Saturday till something bigger could be planned…
This was merely a part of a day-long pass in Paris.
There were close to 40 of us, including an American and a French national… The French lady with us addressed the gathering in French, explaining how secularism is in danger in India and Muslims are being targeted, as did a Maharashtrian friend. Amid the speeches, the slogans and the songs, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of those killed in police atrocities and dead in detention camps.
8. Oxford University and London, England
Protesters gathered on the streets on the 6th of January and condemned attacks against JNU, Jamia and AMU students. The protesters also rejected the controversial CAA and the NRC which is at the heart of protests erupting across India.
The protesters expressed their shock over the violence in educational institutions and in Uttar Pradesh. They also demanded an independent enquiry over these incidents.
9. University of Pennsylvania, USA
10. University of California, Los Angeles, USA
These are only a few of the places all around the world protests have taken place against the CAA and The NRC in India, along with the attack in JNU and police violence in Jamia and Uttar Pradesh.
11. Melbourne, Australia
According to SBS, the event ‘We are with you’ was organised by Southern Crossings, a pan-Australian group of artists, activists and academics to show of solidarity for all those who have been protesting against the CAA.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Arjuna Raina, said that the CAA combined with the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) was a ‘political spin that’s gone too far’.
A Jumla, a political spin, has the Indian Home Minister reassuring the country that no Indian Muslim Citizen will suffer detention and persecution as a consequence of the CAA or Citizen Amendment Act.
According to The Wire, between the 17th and 19th of December alone, Indian students from institutions such as Oxford, Sciences Po (Paris), Harvard, Cambridge, Columbia, University of Massachusetts, and many others organised peaceful protests in major cities like London, New York, Paris, Washington D.C., Berlin, Geneva, Hague, Barcelona, San Francisco, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Melbourne, Cape Town, Helsinki among other places.
