Lucknow : As the focus remains firmly fixed on Clock Tower in old city area where women are protesting against citizenship laws, another protest site has emerged in Ujariyagaon, on the outskirts of Lucknow.
Protests at Ujariyagaon began on Monday night with four women and on Tuesday night, there were about 50 women and children. They chose a raised platform on which stands the mausoleum of Hazrat Rukman Shaheed to stage their protest.
“This is an apt place to fight for the future of our children. We visit this tomb on special occasions,” said Rashida, a homemaker.
One of the protesters said on Wednesday that “At 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday, the police came and took away our tent. They also took away the mats on which we were sitting. They doused our bonfires with water. We tried to explain to them that this was not a fight for Muslims, but a fight for every Indian.”
They said that the police took photographs of their covered faces and warned that they would be identified by their eyes. The police also threatened them with dire consequences.
“We all belong to low income groups and if we disclose out identity, we may be singled out and targeted. Who will fight for us then?” said an elderly protester, whose two sons work as auto drivers.
Four female police constables have now been posted at the site of the protest and the women are not allowed to sing songs. “Not even the national anthem,” says one.
One of the male policemen who stand at a distance says, “Kya faida is protest ka? There is no one to see them and no cameras to record the visuals. They should give a memorandum and go away.”
The protestors retorted and said: “We are not here to disrupt traffic or get publicity. We are here because we believe that the new citizenship law will be detrimental to the future of our children. We are hopeful that someone, someday will listen to us.”
