Nothing Will Be Forgotten: Jamia to Shaheen Bagh by Nehal Ahmed

Author:Nehal Ahmed [Ahmed, Nehal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leftword Books
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

5. SHAHEEN BAGH

Hizabe fitna parvar ab utha leti to achchha tha

khud apne husn ko parda bana leti to achchha tha

Better, if you could pull down the hijab of shyness, now;

better instead, if you could make your boldness a veil

~ Asrarul Haq Majaz

14 December was a historic day for women across the globe, especially for Muslim women. It is not usual for women —irrespective of their religion, caste, or class — to be on the road unless they have been organised through various channels. I have witnessed many protests, and the presence of women has usually been minimal. Shaheen Bagh was a different story. The protests of Shaheen Bagh reveal a new movement in India, with women in the lead. The highlight of the protest was that it was led by women, managed by women, and not for a women-specific issue. In other words, the uniqueness of the protest is that it was not strictly for women’s issues, but it was under the leadership of women.

The protest at Shaheen Bagh became a platform. It was not limited to CAA-NRC but expanded to more than that. Leaders from across the country visited Shaheen Bagh to demonstrate their solidarity. Various movements joined in at Shaheen Bagh, which became a platform for dissent, for protest, for condolence, and for solidarity. Shaheen Bagh reached out to Kashmiri Pandits, who had completed thirty years of their exodus; the protestors paid homage to the martyrs of the Pulwama attack by observing one-minute silence; they remembered the suicide of the farmers; they paid heartfelt tribute at the death anniversary of Rohit Vemula.

On 15 December, when I was mentally and physically displaced, the after-effects of the crackdown weighing on me, I tried to ignore the news. On the night of the crackdown, I felt that everything was over; our democracy was tarnished. What I had seen with my own eyes on 15 December ended my optimism. What will happen now? That was my only thought! There was no answer. Deep down, we wanted the university to be spared from any political retribution. It was merely limited to restarting my studies. Movement gaya bhad me, bas university khul jaye (Forget about the movement, let the university resume). That was my thought during the horrible night of 15 December.

That night, while I slept in my aunt’s house, I saw some messages about the police crackdown at Jamia. I felt that no one would bother about this attack since we are a government-funded university, and on top of that, it is also considered a minority institution. Who is concerned about our university and the beating of mostly Muslim students? Why would anyone — let alone the media — be bothered with the beating of 1000 students, injury of 400, the detention of 50-100 students and damage to the university infrastructure? Social media, however, played a key role. Short videos captured by students of the crackdown went viral. Within a few hours, these horrific visuals helped Jamia students bring attention to what had happened to our campus.

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