Anti-CAA protests: Mumbai joins India at August Kranti Maidan

Mumbai showed just how a perfect peaceful protest is conducted as a humongous crowd of over 25000 converged at Grant Roads August Kranti Maidan on Thursday against the Citizenship Amendment Act CAA and the National Register of Citizens NRCWhile a major chunk of the protesters were youngsters from all walks of life mdash college students and working professionals mdash there were several older adults senior citizens and even schoolchildren present to register their protest against the CAA and NRC The threehour show of solidarity began with student leaders requesting the crowd to behave responsibly and avoid untoward incidentsA woman holds up a placard with an antiCAA sloganBoth the participants and Mumbai police contributed in ensuring a peaceful disciplined rally which focused on the issue at hand It did not take very long for the allotted garden to be filled with participants and another section was opened to accommodate more people According to Mumbai police between 22000 and 25000 people participatedAftaab 21 and Yasir 19 students at HR College and Siddhartha College respectively said they had the blessing of their elders My mother told me that she was proud to know that we are here Delhi Police should learn from Mumbai police about ensuring peace and security Aftaab said My father helped me make this placard said YasirProtesters on the roof of a restaurant next to August Kranti Maidan on ThursdaySlogans such as Hindu Muslim ek hain Modi Shah fake hai Humara irada mek hai Modi Shah fake hain Awaz do hum ek hain ladenge jitenge Inquilab zindabad chatra ekta zindabad Jodo jodo Bharat jodi dominated the scene The participants also held a twominute silence and pledged to stand against the two lawsBoth laws are discriminatory they do not abide by the Constitution I cannot sit at home while such discriminatory laws are being passed by the government said Pearl Jain a student of Liberal Arts at NMIMS Anushka Samant from L S Raheja School of Architecture said Both laws are bullshit and we have to stand against it I do not know how these protests are going to help but it is important to protestProtesters sent their message across with creative posters and placardsMedia students from Siddharth College Janmenjay Kadam said If you want to give citizenship to the oppressed why exclude Ahmadis Tamils from Srilanka or even Rohingyas This shows the discriminatory nature of these laws as youngsters it is our responsibility to stand against thisUniformed school kids were Thursdays headturners Aaliya Ramakrishnan 16 from Bombay International School in Babulnath came with her friends and cousins I had questions regarding the issue and my school and parents explained it to me It is only correct to stand for the cause said Aaliya Her mother Shabanam Minwala said Children in todays information age are aware It is a good thing that they have a point of view and have come to witness the magnitude of the issueA protester seen rallying against CAA and NRC at August Kranti MaidanOne of the highlights of the rally was posters made by the protesters Hindu hun amp nahi Pyar bato desh nahi 55 inch jab darta hai 144 impose karta hai chai wale teri chai secular nahi hai Modi tum chai becho desh nahi read some of them Apart from sloganeering original songs were also performed on the stage set up at the venueVolunteer Siddhant Wathore 19 an NIT Nagpur student who hails from Thane said When I realised I can be of help I gladly took up the responsibility Volunteers were taught how to take videos if untoward incidents take place The volunteers also had a backup plan to keep in touch via Bluetooth in case mobile networks failed Volunteer Sarthak Shrivastava 26 a working professional said There cannot be any issue that takes precedence over the protests aim and we are here to ensure that along with the Mumbai Police25kThe approximate number of people who turned up to protest at August Kranti according to senior police officersWith inputs from Gaurav SarkarCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates