Shaheen Bagh movement is an inspiration to understand peaceful democratic protests in India
It is always inspiring to hear women at Shaheen Bagh as their spirit and energy still is an envy for all. Most of the time a movement more than 65 days old would get tired as the government or the critique of Shaheen Bagh would have thought but to their disappointment, the unity and fraternity at Shaheen Bagh is more inspiring and a great learning for all. This protest movement has created new hope and dynamic leadership where the women are the leader. Today, two interlocutors of the Supreme Court, Sadhna Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde, both senior advocates, were there to discuss the issue with the people. Sadhna spoke initially and her tone was quite aggressive. We won’t talk to the entire people. We would only like to speak to 20 or a group of people ‘appointed’ by you. Other people too have right and the traffic is getting disturbed. We would like to see the narrow lanes and so on. Sanjay Hegde was seasoned as usual as we know his commitments too but then the mandate for the interlocutors is limited to persuade the people to either finish the Dharana or shift somewhere else, a venue of their choice. He also promised that there are so many good willed advocates that they all will fight for their rights and he hoped that Supreme Court will ensure protection of our rights. Whatever the interlocutors suggest but there mandate is limited to persuade the women to call off their Dharana or shift to other venue but for the women it is the issue of their life and death. A peep into the conversation will show how determined the women are and what is the level of their anxiety. Many of them spoke and I can vouch they were simply extraordinary. I could see how well they articulated. Even in the heat of arguments when the public were openly saying that any interlocutor will have to speak in front of all and not with selected few. Stood up a woman and said, “We are thankful to the honourable Supreme Court to have…