Prayagraj: Amidst Protests, Locals Haunted by Spectre of CAA-NRC

Citizenship Amendment Act has exposed deep faultlines in Prayagraj. a city know for its ‘Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb’.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/ The Quint)

Producer: Hera Khan

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

"Why are we always asked (to prove citizenship)? Why are Hindus never asked where they’ve come from and why they settled down here?" asks Parvez Azad, a 65-year-old book shop owner in Prayagraj’s Chowk locality.

On 20 December 2019, a gathering of around 1,000 people had led a protest march from the Chowk Kotwali to Subhash Crossing in Civil Lines as a symbol of solidarity with ongoing demonstrations against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act).

Police vigil has increased in areas located in old city which witnessed protests recently and have a sizeable population of Muslims.

Policemen wearing helmets and donning thick vests over their khaki uniforms could be seen manning various crossings and marketplaces in areas such as Atala, Kareli and Chowk.

UP Police personnel on duty outside Chowk Kotwali in Prayagraj on 23 December 2019.(Photo: Akanksha Kumar/ The Quint)

Parvez, who has been selling Islamic books at Chowk’s ghantaghar for the last 30 years, fears that the demand for documentation under the NRC will eventually result in the ‘eviction’ of the marginalised.

“Citizens who’ve been living here for a long time and are poor and homeless, living on rent are wracked with anxiety, thinking, ‘Will I be evicted from here?'"

Parvez Azad, Bookseller, Chowk (Prayagraj)

Parvez Azad, a bookseller in Chowk locality, feels that CAA will cause trouble to the marginalised.(Photo: Akanksha Kumar/ The Quint)

While Uttar Pradesh reported 18 deaths during violence unleashed during anti-CAA protests, Prayagraj has been largely peaceful. It was among 21 districts in UP where internet was shut down for three days between 21 December and 23 December.

Yet opinion is sharply divided on the issue of CAA with most of the locals The Quint spoke to voicing concerns about the new law that aims to give citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

In Chowk’s Thatheri Bazar, known for selling utensils of all kinds, steel as well as brass, shopkeepers like Mohd Asif feel CAA will add on to their ‘pareshani (worries)’. Asif has been in business for last 15 years and feels that CAA should be taken back immediately as it will hassle the aam aadmi.

“I believe this is wrong and should be done away with. I am apprehensive that this will aggravate our troubles.”

Mohd Asif, Shopkeeper, Thatheri Bazar

Mohammed Asif in Thatheri Bazar feels that paperwork related to NRC will increase troubles for a common man.(Photo: Akanksha Kumar/ The Quint)

But Saurabh Rastogi, who owns a shop of utensils, right opposite to Mohammed Asif, feels otherwise.

According to Rastogi, whose third generation is in the business of brassware, people are giving in to ‘fear-mongering’ way too easily and BJP is only completing task left unfinished by Congress.

“On the world map, you can see there isn’t a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ yet. Yet we have states that are Islamic and Jewish. As Modiji resolved, he has done what Congress government couldn’t do.”

Saurabh Rastogi, Shopkeeper, Thatheri Bazar

For Mohammed Sarwar, who has a tailoring shop in Chowk, even the recent speech of the prime minister from Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan was not assuring enough.

Admitting that business has been slow for last few months, Sarwar is upset with government for giving so much attention to issues other than economy.

“So many people in India are poor and struggling to earn enough for two square meals a day. How will they arrange documents? Many don’t even have Aadhaar yet.”

Mohammed Sarwar, Tailor

Atiya Naqvi, a housewife, took part in Friday’s protests along with her family. She, too, feels that Muslims will bear the brunt of CAA and nation-wide NRC.

“Everything is about Hindu and Muslim. There is no other agenda. It’s not about economy, it’s not about growth, it’s not about employment; mandir-masjid, that’s the only thing.”

Atiya Naqvi

Atiya Naqvi holding anti-CAA poster during protests in Chowk locality.(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

"Someone is spreading rumours among our Muslim brethren," says Sanjay Gupta, a BJP worker and former councillor.

But even the educated gentry in Prayagraj’s Kareli area is concerned about CAA with share brokers like Tanveer terming the move a ‘conspiracy to facilitate backdoor entry of a certain community’.

In a city known for its ‘Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb’, the CAA has fuelled anger among minorities across classes.