Fiery speeches, Bharathiyar songs and rap and folk music by the band Casteless Collective marked the protests held in the city on Sunday by different groups against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens.
The first protest of the day was by Muslims from 30 mosques in Triplicane and members of a few temples. Chants of Hindustan Zindabad, Sare Jahan Se Accha, Inquilab Zindabad and Allahu Akbar resonated through the air, as more than 500 protesters carrying Indian flags gathered at Chepauk.
Unmindful of the heat, the young, the old, the visually-challenged, women and even children took part in the protest, which started at 11 a.m. They occupied one side of Wallajah Road leading to the beach, while the other side was open to traffic. Three MTC buses were kept on stand-by to ferry the protesters, in case of arrests.
“This is a protest to condemn the CAA and ask the government to scrap it. Instead of introducing welfare schemes or improving the economy, the ruling BJP government [at the Centre] has been enacting laws to destroy Muslims, Dalits and other minorities,” said M.H. Peer Mohammed, a protester.
Accusing the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu of not treating the Muslim community properly, he said, “When many other States have refused to implement the Act, it is sad that the Tamil Nadu government is maintaining silence on the issue. Even now, they can withdraw it. The Prime Minister should address the public and give some clarity regarding the Act.”
Many of the protesters argued that there was no need for them to prove that they belonged to India. “This is our motherland too. A large number of people from our community have fought for the country’s Independence. It is not right to treat us like this,” said Anwar Basha, a protester.
Around noon, more youngsters, including non-Muslims, started pouring into the protest venue, holding placards with messages like ‘Hindu-Muslim Bhai Bhai’ (Hindus and Muslims are brothers) and ‘We Tamils reject CAA-NRC’. Some took aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the Tamil Nadu government.
They staged individual protests on the same stretch, with some squatting on the road. The organisers kept requesting the participants to protest peacefully and not cause any inconvenience to the public or the police. The agitation drew to a close at 1 p.m.
The second protest — a march by the Sunnath Jamath Federation and a few members of non-Muslim communities — started from the Big Mosque on Triplicane High Road. “We walked till Chepauk, holding placards and shouting slogans against CAA and NRC. It was a peaceful protest,” said Syed Riaz Ahmed, a protester.
Meanwhile, hundreds participated in a protest organised by the Citizens against CAA near the Besant Nagar bus terminus. People from different walks of life took part in the peaceful agitation.
As a precautionary measure, the police initially prevented vehicles from entering the Besant Nagar promenade. However, the restriction was later relaxed, considering the number of people likely to visit the beach on a Sunday.
Protesters carried witty yet meaningful posters with messages like “It is so bad that even the crow stopped CAA-CAA” and “The cow ate my documents”. The protest began with a rendition of the song ‘We shall Overcome’ and the ‘Tamizh Thai Vazhthu’.
After that, there was a two-minute silence for those who had been killed during the ongoing protests. Slogans such as ‘RSS se Azadi’, ‘Amit Shah se Azadi’ and a few against CAA rend the air.
Performances by the Casteless Collective and a few rappers livened up the stir. The participants were given time to speak on CAA and NRC. “We are not against police fraternity, but against police brutality,” said a young protester.
The protest came to an end around 6 p.m. “We would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. It is because of them [that] all of us have come together to protest against a move that will divide India,” a participant said.
