The homemade placard said it all: Hindu Hoon, Chu**** Nahin (I'm a Hindu but not a *fool). It was exhilarating to be at the August Kranti Maidan rally on Thursday. The mood was a mixture of anger and hope, at the Mumbai rally to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), that threatens to destroy the secular values guaranteed in the Constitution. Ironically, the CAA and NRC, that threatened to divide the country on grounds of religion, seemed to have united the people instead.

There were an estimated 20,000 citizens at the rally, including people of all classes, religions and generations. It was heartening to see a massive number of youth and students, including a number of vocal young women in saris, salwars, hijab and burqas.