January 30, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

The protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India continued. Shaheen Bagh, a place sitting in South Delhi, turned into the center of attention. With the arrival of the provincial assembly elections, the ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), warned that people would get hurt by the protestors if they do not support BJP. 

On the other hand, young artists in India stepped forward to raise the attention of CAA in public spaces. Tanzeela, an artist in advertising, spoke out against the “divisive law” through art and posted it on Instagram, which struck a chord. Gargi Chandola, an artist, pointed out that art could invoke conscience in silent people and could trigger them to participate in the movement. 

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) allowed minority immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to get citizenship from India. Nonetheless, CAA excluded the Muslim, which was seemed as discrimination and against the country’s secular constitution. The minorities in India, such as Muslims and Dalits, were worried that the National Register of Citizens might let them having no nationality. 

Photo:Webshot.