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Shaheen Bagh Inspires Similar Anti-CAA Protests In Prayagraj, Gaya, Kolkata

People have been protesting peacefully against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens for almost a month now at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh.
Protesters stand in front of a banner during a demonstration at Shaheen Bagh area. The photo was taken on 7 January, 2020.
MONEY SHARMA via Getty Images
Protesters stand in front of a banner during a demonstration at Shaheen Bagh area. The photo was taken on 7 January, 2020.

The peaceful and organised protest at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi has inspired similar sit-in protests against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Gaya in Bihar and Kolkata.

A group of women began a sit-in at Prayagraj’s Mansoor Ali Park on Sunday, according to The Indian Express. Sara Ahmed, one of the organisers of the protest, told the newspaper, “We will make this sit-in like the one at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. If women of Delhi can sit outside in the cold, why can’t we? We will sit here for 24 hours and continue our protest in the coming days. It will not stop.”

Similar protests are also being organised in other states including Gaya and Kolkata.

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Hundreds of people have been holding a peaceful protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) since 29 December in the Shanti Bagh locality of Gaya. The women go home late in the evening with the men still protesting, according to The Times of India. The report added that blankets have been organised through on-the-spot donation. The organisers said the protest is indefinite, but they may review it after the Supreme Court takes up the CAA matter.

The protest by women in Park Circus area, taking place since 7 January, is being touted as Kolkata’s Shaheen Bagh, according to PTI.

“From bright young boys and girls to social activists, writers and artistes, many people have assembled at a protest site in Park Circus and are giving speeches from a makeshift podium. This is a spontaneous, apolitical movement against CAA and NRC,” Muzaffar Ali, a garments trader from Beniapukur area told PTI on Sunday.

A group of women from Kolkata inspired by Delhi's Shaheen Bagh women's started a sit-in campaign at Park Circus against CAA and NRC, 9 January, 2020.
Pacific Press via Getty Images
A group of women from Kolkata inspired by Delhi's Shaheen Bagh women's started a sit-in campaign at Park Circus against CAA and NRC, 9 January, 2020.

Watch visuals from the Kolkata protest in this Scroll article.

What’s happening at Shaheen Bagh?

People have been protesting peacefully against the Citizenship Amendment Act for last one month now at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh.

A replica of the India Gate has also been put up near the protest site with the names of people who have lost their lives during anti-CAA protests across the country.

On Sunday, one of the initial organisers of the protest, Syed Taseer Ahmed, told PTI that “Scriptures from the Geeta, the Bible, the Quran were read and Gurbani held”. The Preamble of the Constitution was also read out by people, he added.

Here are some photos from Shaheen Bagh:

A miniature replica of India Gate near the site of the indefinite sit-in at Shaheen Bagh, on January 11, 2020.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
A miniature replica of India Gate near the site of the indefinite sit-in at Shaheen Bagh, on January 11, 2020.
Women protesting against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bagh, on January 12, 2020.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Women protesting against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bagh, on January 12, 2020.
Artists made anti-CAA murals and other art installations on the blockade highway during the sit-in protest at Shaheen Bagh against the CAA on January 12, 2020.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Artists made anti-CAA murals and other art installations on the blockade highway during the sit-in protest at Shaheen Bagh against the CAA on January 12, 2020.

(With PTI inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.