For a 24-year-old, Athar Khan had just too many choices to make ever since the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 rocked Delhi. He was, for instance, cautioned by his uncle Najmuddin, an activist in his own right, to keep a little distance from the frontline of the battle raging against the Indian state’s discriminatory citizenship policy—and not come in the crosshairs of the Police. In a voice quavering with passion, Athar lectured Najmuddin and his parents on how the CAA, along with the process of preparing the National Register of Citizens, would devastate Muslims.

It was thus that when the residents of Chand Bagh, a locality in Northeast Delhi, decided to organise a sit-in demonstration against the CAA, Athar was assigned the task of managing the stage and coordinating with the local police regarding the protest. Athar gave his all to make the Chand Bagh dharna a success.