Shaheen Bagh Reclaims the National Anthem

NEW DELHI: It was a feast of sights and sounds, of hope and love, of unity in diversity. Thousands stood up at the stroke of midnight to welcome 2020 with the national anthem.. the decibels ringing out the fear and terror unleashed on citizens in the past days and embracing the optimism of India in unity.

The amazing women of Shaheen Bagh in the heart of the national capital have caught the hearts and minds of all across India and the world by camping under the open skies and the bitter cold In protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The protest has become a virtual portrayal of all that is good in humanity with others bringing food, sharing blankets, singing songs of resistance, holding hands and stoking India’s potpourri of diversity and pluralism.

So it was but natural for Delhi to make its way to Shaheen Bagh to usher in 2020 with the women and their families. And together reclaim the national anthem and the national flag that had been the emblem of India’s struggle for independence against those who sought to control her will.

Words cannot capture the spirit but the photographs below might: