The Shaheen Bagh protests: a redefined desi feminist movement.

"Nothing challenges the government holding state and social power more than the upsurge of new ideas, principles, and thoughts in history that come from people and pass through them. Shaheen Bagh, then, is the intervention of history into the space of society governed by the fear of mortality and the regulation of the freedom of these very morals."

The Shaheen Bagh protests against the CAA/NRC policies epitomised the most prolonged sit-in intergenerational protests since Indian Independence. But in its truest form, the protests were the embodiment of feminine solidarity, of the modern-day feminist movements and showed the role of art and literature in a 21st-century protest. The protests saw the participation of thousands of women for four continuous months, blocking the main road in Delhi and capturing imaginations across the country. Starting in the Delhi winter, December 2019, these sit-ins lasted 101 days before demolition because of COVID restrictions in March 2020. Shaheen Bagh became the face of women’s organising and remained an inspiration to many other protest sites across Delhi and India.

The initial moment that ignited this three-month-long movement was the jarring socio-political shift, initiated by the government through the communal manipulation of the law. The strong anti-muslim ideologies reiterated by the ruling party of India grew tenfold when the discriminatory and Islamophobic CAA was announced. The act would provide non-Muslim asylum-seeking minorities from neighbouring countries an opportunity to claim Indian citizenship. In line with the NRC, which would task citizens the responsibility to prove their ancestry and render those without the "right papers" stateless, these bills had the power to determine who was a lawful citizen and, more often than not, be against Muslims, indigenous people, trans people and Dalits.

Nationwide protests calling for an expeditious overturning of these bills were met with police brutality and disapproval from mainstream (which currently becomes synonymous with right-leaning) news outlets that labelled the riots and protests as"anti-national". The breaking point for many Muslims, especially those based in Delhi, came through in the form of shaky video clips of students from Jamia Millia Islamia University. They were facing the wrath of the police ordered to detain and attack students participating in a peaceful protest. These videos circulated on Whatsapp and Instagram lit a fire under the women, who began the indefinite sit-in, which wrapped up on March 24 2020, because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Shaheen Bagh became a portrayal of unflinching sisterhood, of these nanis who saw partition unfold in front of them and their dedication to protecting the rights of their community. As one of the Shaheen Bagh women shared with Seema Mustaf, the writer of Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India: Writings on a Movement, "'We knew we had no choice left but to come out together if we wanted to survive."

The protest site turned into an open-air gallery of hand drawings, photography, graffiti, posters, murals and art installations that were in defiance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India. Shaheen Bagh encompassed much more than politics.

Posters and prints designed by artists and activists that reiterate the cause through witty slogans and strong messaging were a staple of Shaheen Bagh; hand-drawn posters by children were another. Straightforward in their copy, these posters were a criticism against a regime characterised by state-sanctioned violence that dates beyond 2019.

Installations at the site included the detention camp that reminded onlookers of the disastrous implications of the NRC, a 35-feet tall iron sculpture of the map of India, and a makeshift replica of India Gate etched with the names of protesters who were killed across the country. But that wasn't all the protests encompassed. The resistance became a living, breathing cultural act through makeshift libraries and performance stages. People recited Urdu poetry and set up classrooms in local stores for children to learn, engage, and be cared for by the community. While their mothers protested alternative educational spaces in the form of feminist libraries. These spaces provided a respite and a space to sit and read for the children of Shaheen Bagh and daily visitors. Through the means of art and powerful political messages, women of all backgrounds rubbed shoulders with one another and joined in to fight for the common cause. The women reframed the definition of citizenship and forced the world to recognize the true meaning of nationalism by redefining the narrative. They reestablished true and propaganda-less feminism by creating a sisterhood- a thing that transcended religion, financial status and background.

In March 2020, Covid-19 took out the same Shaheen Bagh that remained strong in the face of State intimidation and armed pigs. The graffiti-laden walls were quickly painted over in a sea of white. Adrija Ghosh writes about these white walls as a symbol of oppression and erasure "Some symbols are removed by governments out of fear that they might thwart the status quo; some monuments and statues are protected by governments out of fear that history might be re-written, or reclaimed. It depends on us, who are the resistance, to choose what history we might write for ourselves and the legacy we might want to leave behind."

What was especially novel about these protests was the presence and leadership of first-time Muslim women protestors. The protest was clustered with women who had never even heard of feminism yet worked to help secure the rights and better the living conditions of women. Not only that but it helped us draw a contrast with the contemporary feminist movements and the strength possessed by a community brought together, More than anything, I think perhaps the protests serve to remind us of the role of art in mass protests.

"Nothing challenges the government holding state and social power more than the upsurge of new ideas, principles, and thoughts in history that come from people and pass through them. Shaheen Bagh, then, is the intervention of history into the space of society governed by the fear of mortality and the regulation of the freedom of these very morals."

The Shaheen Bagh protests against the CAA/NRC policies epitomised the most prolonged sit-in intergenerational protests since Indian Independence. But in its truest form, the protests were the embodiment of feminine solidarity, of the modern-day feminist movements and showed the role of art and literature in a 21st-century protest. The protests saw the participation of thousands of women for four continuous months, blocking the main road in Delhi and capturing imaginations across the country. Starting in the Delhi winter, December 2019, these sit-ins lasted 101 days before demolition because of COVID restrictions in March 2020. Shaheen Bagh became the face of women’s organising and remained an inspiration to many other protest sites across Delhi and India.

The initial moment that ignited this three-month-long movement was the jarring socio-political shift, initiated by the government through the communal manipulation of the law. The strong anti-muslim ideologies reiterated by the ruling party of India grew tenfold when the discriminatory and Islamophobic CAA was announced. The act would provide non-Muslim asylum-seeking minorities from neighbouring countries an opportunity to claim Indian citizenship. In line with the NRC, which would task citizens the responsibility to prove their ancestry and render those without the "right papers" stateless, these bills had the power to determine who was a lawful citizen and, more often than not, be against Muslims, indigenous people, trans people and Dalits.

Nationwide protests calling for an expeditious overturning of these bills were met with police brutality and disapproval from mainstream (which currently becomes synonymous with right-leaning) news outlets that labelled the riots and protests as"anti-national". The breaking point for many Muslims, especially those based in Delhi, came through in the form of shaky video clips of students from Jamia Millia Islamia University. They were facing the wrath of the police ordered to detain and attack students participating in a peaceful protest. These videos circulated on Whatsapp and Instagram lit a fire under the women, who began the indefinite sit-in, which wrapped up on March 24 2020, because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Shaheen Bagh became a portrayal of unflinching sisterhood, of these nanis who saw partition unfold in front of them and their dedication to protecting the rights of their community. As one of the Shaheen Bagh women shared with Seema Mustaf, the writer of Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India: Writings on a Movement, "'We knew we had no choice left but to come out together if we wanted to survive."

The protest site turned into an open-air gallery of hand drawings, photography, graffiti, posters, murals and art installations that were in defiance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India. Shaheen Bagh encompassed much more than politics.

Posters and prints designed by artists and activists that reiterate the cause through witty slogans and strong messaging were a staple of Shaheen Bagh; hand-drawn posters by children were another. Straightforward in their copy, these posters were a criticism against a regime characterised by state-sanctioned violence that dates beyond 2019.

Installations at the site included the detention camp that reminded onlookers of the disastrous implications of the NRC, a 35-feet tall iron sculpture of the map of India, and a makeshift replica of India Gate etched with the names of protesters who were killed across the country. But that wasn't all the protests encompassed. The resistance became a living, breathing cultural act through makeshift libraries and performance stages. People recited Urdu poetry and set up classrooms in local stores for children to learn, engage, and be cared for by the community. While their mothers protested alternative educational spaces in the form of feminist libraries. These spaces provided a respite and a space to sit and read for the children of Shaheen Bagh and daily visitors. Through the means of art and powerful political messages, women of all backgrounds rubbed shoulders with one another and joined in to fight for the common cause. The women reframed the definition of citizenship and forced the world to recognize the true meaning of nationalism by redefining the narrative. They reestablished true and propaganda-less feminism by creating a sisterhood- a thing that transcended religion, financial status and background.

In March 2020, Covid-19 took out the same Shaheen Bagh that remained strong in the face of State intimidation and armed pigs. The graffiti-laden walls were quickly painted over in a sea of white. Adrija Ghosh writes about these white walls as a symbol of oppression and erasure "Some symbols are removed by governments out of fear that they might thwart the status quo; some monuments and statues are protected by governments out of fear that history might be re-written, or reclaimed. It depends on us, who are the resistance, to choose what history we might write for ourselves and the legacy we might want to leave behind."

What was especially novel about these protests was the presence and leadership of first-time Muslim women protestors. The protest was clustered with women who had never even heard of feminism yet worked to help secure the rights and better the living conditions of women. Not only that but it helped us draw a contrast with the contemporary feminist movements and the strength possessed by a community brought together, More than anything, I think perhaps the protests serve to remind us of the role of art in mass protests.