Huge Map of India in Shaheen Bagh – An Ode to Unity Amid Diversity

New Delhi: The future of the month-long protest against controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 or CAA at Shaheen Bagh in South East Delhi remains uncertain, as no one knows when batons, water cannons, tear gas shells or masked persons may descend to evict protesters who have been camping on a national highway that connects Delhi, Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Faridabad (Haryana).

However, giving a damn to what fate they will meet, the protesters, mainly women, are leaving no stone unturned to make the venue a hub of creativity and art.

After a replica of India Gate and a detention camp, now a giant map of India has come up at the Kalindi Kunj-Noida stretch, near Shaheen Bagh, which has been the epicentre of a non-violent upsurge against the discriminatory CAA for over a month now.

Made of iron rods and sheets, the map was being prepared for over a week, and is the brainchild of artistes from different universities of the country as well as local volunteers.

The inspiration behind the map is that people from different walks of life and faiths sit, debate and exchange their ideas under the shadow of the country in Shaheen Bagh— who believe that India belongs to them and no one can move them out.

“A narrative is continuously being built that the people of this country are supporting CAA, NPR (National Population Register) and the proposed National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC). But who are these people? They are, of course, not us who are opposing it tooth and nail. By making this map of the country, we are breaking the narrative and declaring that we, the people of India, reject CAA-NPR-NRIC. The people they are referring to as supporters of CAA may constitute 25-35% of the total population. What about the rest population? This is the voice of the rest 65-70% of the population. Since it is the voice of the country, we thought about putting it on the map of the country,” Pawan Shukla, one of the artistes, told Newsclick.

Shukla said: “We, the people of India...” that has been written on the map does not at all refer to the residents of Shaheen Bagh, but those across the country who are opposed to the new legislation that is “discriminatory”.

“We have tried to fill a cultural void in this protest and create a platform for debate and discussion with the help of art. It is also a symbol of unity. Those who think that we don’t exist, we will tell them with this art form that we exist and our voices cannot be stifled. We are also trying to tell the ruling dispensation that this country is diverse and accommodates people from different religious faith. The country belonsg to them and they cannot be removed from here,” he added.

This map is an attempt, said another artiste, to voice the opinion of 68% electorate of the country that did not vote for Narendra Modi, and what they think about the CAA-NPR-NRIC.

“This was not at all planned. The idea randomly germinated and we discussed it with the local people. They agreed and the work began. People have voluntarily contributed and this how it has come up. We want to give a message to the government that a large section of the population of the country rejects your divisive and communal agenda,” said Rakesh, a native of Bihar and an alumnus of Shanti Niketan University in West Bengal.

Another artiste, Veer, referred to anti-Nazi German playwright Bertolt Brecht, who had said ‘koi nahin puchega husn kab kamre men daakhil hua; puchega awaam ke saath sazishen kab rachi gayin; nahin kahenge ke waqt bura tha; puchenge tumhare waqt ke fankar kyun khamosh the (no one will ask when the beauty entered the room; will ask when intrigues were made against people; won’t say that the time was bad; it will be asked why the artists of your time were silent).

“The government thinks that artistes are silent or dancing to its tunes. That’s not true. We are telling the government that our fraternity is not with you. We standing in solidarity with people across the country who are fighting against this black law. With our art, we are trying to make their voices even louder,” he said.

The artiste said the map would “stand tall and keep challenging” the government, saying that the country belongs to people and not the government of the day.

Apart from several graffiti and interesting posters and placards, Shaheen Bagh also has a replica of India Gate — the iconic war memorial in New Delhi — installed by the protesters a week ago, which has names of protesters killed in the past one month written on it.

The protest site also has a replica of a detention centre to remind the people of the sufferings faced by inmates lodged in Assam.

The CAA-NPR-NRIC have triggered nation-wide protests. But in Shaheen Bagh, the peaceful indefinite sit-in has been led by women, mostly home makers, accompanied by their children, in the one of the harshest winters that Delhi has faced in a long time.

The protest is leaderless and self-disciplined. Many visitors say it is unique in the history of dissent and protest.