Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan says that denying police permissions and serving legal notices to the women protesting at Mumbai Bagh, will not deter them from fighting for their children's rights
Kannan Gopinathan, seen here at Mumbai Bagh, had resigned from service as a mark of protest against the restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of Article 370
Women are fighting for their children's rights — to live in a country without hatred, says former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who visited Mumbai Bagh on Tuesday night, where hundreds of women have been involved in a sit-in protest against the CAA-NRC-NPR since January 26. Excerpts from an interview:
Is the protest model being applied to all protest sites?
It is like this across the country; women, at various locations, have started indefinite sit-in protests against the CAA-NRC-NPR. They are fighting for their children's rights — to live in the country without hatred. These women are fighting against the way the central government is making the issue communal. When a mother fights for her children, there can only be one winner — the mother. No Narendra Modi or government can deter this movement.
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What are the main differences between Shaheen Bagh and Mumbai Bagh?
In Mumbai Bagh, not even daflis or small handheld speakers are allowed. The protesters have been served numerous legal notices. In Shaheen Bagh, people are able to speak openly. This anti-CAA movement [in Mumbai] is not going to come to an end simply because the authorities are denying permissions for speakers or mikes. These are foolish things with which the government and police think they can deter us. The determination of these women is at a much higher level than this. Even without a mike, these women will ensure that they are heard.
You recently announced a peaceful protest march to Parliament on Twitter.
In my travels over the past few months, people have told me that the government is pretending like nothing is happening, so I wrote about the peaceful protest.
Is the serving of Section 149 on protesters at Morland Road justified?
How can people sitting peacefully asking for something that is unconstitutional to be revoked be involved in illegal activity? All we are saying is take back this unconditional act.
How should the Maharashtra government react to the protests?
The Maha Vikas Aghadi has said they will not adhere to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), but have not said anything about the National Population Register (NPR) yet. They (MVA) should bring out an official notification immediately saying they will not implement the CAA and NRC. The state government must ask the Centre for clarity about how the database created for NRC will be used.
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