Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
“The news is not that Shaheen Bagh sit-in protests were cleared today. The real news is that Shaheen Bagh has made all of us stand up and take notice."
Social activist and Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav on Tuesday, 24 March, reacted strongly to the Shaheen Bagh sit-in protests cleared by the Delhi Police amid the coronavirus outbreak, stating that it was a “revolution that will return.”
Speaking to The Quint, Yadav said that the protests were kicked-off for the welfare of the nation and that it ended, also for the welfare of the country.
“The women of Shaheen Bagh were sitting for the country, now they have stood up, also for the country. Shaheen Bagh will return, also for the country.”Yogendra Yadav, Social Activist
In the wake of coronavirus outbreak and a complete lockdown in the national capital, Shaheen Bagh’s nearly three-month-long protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) came to a halt as the Delhi Police cleared the protest site, earlier during the day.
Yadav said that he has spent 20-25 days in Shaheen Baghs across India, including Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Satara, Bengaluru and in every place, he said the same thing.
“Shaheen Bagh is not the name of a place, but it is the name of a revolution.”
“The place may have cleared, people might have left but the 'josh' of Shaheen Bagh remains. The people who have 'left' have not really left - they are amidst us,” added Yadav.
To those saying that Shaheen Bagh was cleared without their demands being met, Yadav had a question:
“Mahatma Gandhi’s salt satyagraha was successful but did it immediately drive out the British? Satyagraha made us discover a new path for the freedom movement. The same applies to Shaheen Bagh.”
Stressing on Shaheen Bagh’s return, Yadav said that it might not come back in the same form or in the same clother.
“This time they came in hijab. Next time, they may come in bindis. But Shaheen Bagh will return. Who knows, some day the woman unfurling the national flag from Red Fort may also be from this very Shaheen Bagh,” said Yadav.
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