‘Thank You’: Twitter Salutes Shaheen Bagh Women as Protest Ends

Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, was cleared by Delhi Police on Tuesday, 24 March, amid the lockdown imposed in the national capital in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Security was tightened and the protest area was sealed off by the police after a prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC was promulgated in Delhi in light of the viral pandemic.

As the now-iconic site cleared, Twitter users saluted the efforts of the women who had kept the protest going for several months. Some even called for the revival the protest once the pandemic is dealt with.

Once this is all over and we are back to our normal lives, it will be our moral responsibility to rebuild Shaheen Bagh and stand by the brave women protestors. The women of Shaheen Bagh have taught us to fight the good fight. My salam to each one of you.

— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) March 24, 2020

Thank you, Shaheen Bagh. No virus can diminish what you achieved, and what you stood for in defiance of bigotry and fascism.

— Samit Basu (@samitbasu) March 24, 2020

100 days of Shaheen Bagh!
The largest resistance movement of independent India led by women to save the constitution& democracy.
History will forever remember you for your heroism
Movements don’t end.
They are just deferred to another day.
Shaheen Bagh ki Behno ko mere 100 Salam!

— Arfa Khanum Sherwani (@khanumarfa) March 24, 2020

Thank you ladies of #ShaheenBagh. You showed the world what women can achieve. https://t.co/Xqncz69XO1

— Saba Naqvi (@_sabanaqvi) March 24, 2020

Shaheen Bagh has given citizens a lasting hope of the Constitution coming off the pages and into people's everyday lives. It endures, Shaheen Bagh will live in hearts and imagination. https://t.co/6F5e58fOKE

— Karuna Nundy (@karunanundy) March 24, 2020

Some users also pointed that the protests, a significant part of which were elderly people, should be put on hold due to the alarming spread of the novel coronavirus.

Clearing off the #ShaheenBagh protest was inevitable and needed in the present situation #CoronavirusOutbreak

But look at how many policemen, paramilitary personnel were deployed to do this!

There were 5 women inside the protest tent. pic.twitter.com/HuqgCaeRBY

— Zeba Warsi (@Zebaism) March 24, 2020

The women of Shaheen Bagh have been incredibly brave, I like others have borrowed immense courage from them. But let us not forget that the elderly women at the protests are most vulnerable to the virus and in the interest of public health, the protests must take a break.

— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) March 16, 2020

#ShaheenBagh के सभी दोस्तों से दरखास्त है, की #CoronavirusPandemic का ख़तरा टल जाने तक, protest को रोक दें!!
इस ख़तरे से पूरे देश को लड़ना है! 🙏🙏
आपकी हिम्मत को पूरी दुनिया देख चुकी है। अब एक और हिम्मत का काम कीजिए और protest अभी रोक दीजिए!!

— Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub (@Mdzeeshanayyub) March 21, 2020

Folks at Shaheen Bagh should now call off their protest. They have made a point. But public safety must override politics. They can assemble later after the Coronavirus subsides. Refusal to do so is a risk to everyone’s health. If they still don’t move, they should be evicted.

— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) March 17, 2020