On frigid New Year's Eve, hopes of change gleam bright
New Delhi: The children of Shaheen Bagh spent the last hour of the decade learning about their right to hold the government accountable and spent the first hour of the 20s deciding to stand for something they believe in - with the Tricolour in their eyes and the words of Rabindranath Tagore - as they sang the National Anthem in the cold hoping for a future they can thrive in.
While girls as young as four or five have been sitting with their mothers and sisters in solidarity, the boys of Shaheen Bagh made sure that the 18th day of protest continued peacefully by controlling what appeared to be a crowd of more than 3,500 people on December 31.
"It's very simple. We want the government to take back the NRC and CAA because this is India - a place where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs Christians and people of all regions have lived and thrived peacefully," 15-year-old Mohammad Riyaz said, herding a group of young girls into the covered enclosure of the Shaheen Bagh protest site. He shouts every 10 minutes or so, asking camerapersons and reporters to clear the way for the women and children sitting in protest.
Meanwhile, boys aged between 11 and 17 stationed themselves around the protest site, directing the throngs of people that kept arriving way past midnight. As one approaches the protest site on Kalindi Kunj Road, it is cordoned-off right before the stage area with nylon ropes.
Young boys kept guard, sipping tea and making sure that visitors do not crowd the area unnecessarily and reach the protest in a uniform manner - all with a heart full of support for their mothers and sisters.
"There is a reason our mothers and sisters are sitting here for so many days. It is not a joke. We want freedom from the shackles of NRC and CAA," Mohammad Azeem (12) said, speaking to Millennium Post while directing a batch of 15 supporters out of the protest site.
A few hundred metres away, coordinating the supply of mattresses and quilts to the women sitting under the tent, Riyaz said it is extremely important to protect the idea of India as a religiously and culturally inclusive nation. "Even if one person is sent away from the country due to this law, the place won't be India anymore," he said, as he disappeared into the crowd.
