A large number of Muslim women, under the aegis of Women India Movement, Dakshina Kannada, gathered outside Town Hall here to protest against CAA, NRC and the recent death of Jaleel and Nauseen in the police firing.
Addressing the protesters, writer Jyoti Guruprasad said that by excluding Muslims from the list of communities persecuted in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, whose grant of Indian citizenship has been expedited, the Centre has sown a seed of hatred. Instead of accepting dissent, the government has used force to gun down two innocent Muslims.
Mujahida, from the South Karnataka Salafi Movement, said Muslims who have stayed back in India following partition are followers of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who turned down the two-nation theory of Muhammed Ali Jinnah. Muslims here believe in the Constitution that gives every one the right to practice their religion. They will continue to fight against the Union government till it takes back the CAA.
Sakeena, a relative of the deceased Jaleel, accused the police of failing to show restraint in controlling protesters and of gunning down her relative, who did not have a criminal background.
Social activist Nazma and National Womens Front’s National Committee member Dildar also spoke.
Enumeration exercise still under cloud
Despite the appeal by Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B. Rupesh asking people to cooperate with Accredited Social Health Activists and Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery in enumeration works, fears persist about information being used for NRC. During the protest, Shahida Tasleem, State president of Women’s India Movement, Karnataka, asked Muslim women to give details to ASHA workers and ANMs only if they are confident of the latter.
“If they come to your house, please send them away stating confusion about the ongoing exercise. Let these ANMs understand (our predicament) and build pressure on the government to stop collecting documents for the National Population Register. Do not allow them to take your photograph and sign on the document produced by ANMs, ASHA workers,” she said.
