NEW DELHI: Lusty slogans against the amended Citizenship Act continued to ring out of the streets near Jamia on Thursday. Students, women and even the elderly gathered to protest the contentious legislation, chanting slogans such as ‘Inquilab Zindabad, Modi Teri Tana Shahi Nahi Chalegi’ (Modi, your tyranny won’t be tolerated), ‘Hum Kya Chahte? Azaadi’ (We want freedom).
The protesters, many of whom were non-Muslims and youths, formed a human chain while Namaz was being offered in the vicinity, sending out a clear message that people, across faiths, are united in protest against this piece of legislation. Elderly protesters, too, joined the rest in biting cold to sing songs of resistance outside the campus.
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Doughty and spirited at 85, Lail-un-Nisa parked herself right in the middle of the protesters. “I’ve been living here since 1958 but never before have I see such ‘zulm and ziyatti’ (oppression and atrocity). I couldn’t stay indoors when my children are here protesting,” Nisa told this newspaper.
Asked how long she plans to continue her protest, she said, “Jab tak jaan hain (till I am alive)”. Also in the crowd of protesters was 65-year-old Majid Khan from Okhla. “I’ve been arranging food for protesters and also been keeping an eye to ensure the protest isn’t hijacked by miscreants.