Cries of “Hindusthan Zindabad” and “Awaaz do, sab ek ho (lend your voice, all of you be one)” rang through the evening air in Park Circus on Thursday after many months.

The slogans came from a rally led by women against the citizenship regime and farm laws, which started from Mullickbazar and culminated in Park Circus.

On January 7 last year, a small group of women started a 24X7 vigil against the citizenship thrust at the Park Circus Maidan. Slogans of amity and communal harmony, rising from the makeshift stage, were audible at every nook and corner of Park Circus every day.

The vigil, the longest after Shaheen Bagh, was halted by the pandemic after completing 83 days.

On January 7 a year later, some women who were at the forefront of the demonstration organised a rally, this time against the NRC-NPR-CAA combine as well as the new farm laws.

(From left) Dipti Lahiri, a former school teacher; Sanjukta Roy, an advocate; and homemakers Mousumi Nag and Sunanda Das at the rally against the citizenship regime and farm laws at Park Circus on Thursday

The rally was attended by over 100 people — men, women and members of the LGBTQ community.

Though not huge in terms of size, the marchers were upbeat and vocal.

“The Park Circus movement was a defining moment in our lives. So many other demonstrations started in Calcutta inspired by Park Circus. The pandemic could not have come at a worse time,” said Sabina Rizvi, a homemaker who walked in the rally on Thursday.

“The divisive forces have not been idle during the Covid-19 pandemic. They have jailed dissenters and brought more black laws. It is high time we hit the streets.”

Sukhnandan Singh Ahluwalia, 80, had a prostate surgery in October. But he walked the full stretch on Thursday.

“Over 50 people have died at the Singhu border. The government is busy convening one fruitless meeting after another. The lack of empathy is stark,” said Ahluwalia, a Mominpore resident who used to visit the Park Circus Maidan regularly when the vigil was on.

Many marchers were carrying posters demanding the release of political prisoners — from Varvara Rao to Umar Khalid.

Dipti Lahiri, 70, was walking at the tail of the rally, holding on to a poster of Khalid.

“Umar is a brave young man with unflinching love for his country. He is having to go through so much at this age but his spirit is unbroken,” said Lahiri, whose daughter is a friend of Khalid.

Asmat Jamil, who had started the Park Circus vigil along with a handful of other women, spoke at the culmination of the rally. All along the rally, she was bound to a wheelchair. Jamil had taken ill and had to travel to Mumbai for treatment in mid-March last year.

“We had started the rally with only a few people. But with time, our impact was felt across Bengal. Similarly, today’s rally is just a fresh start. We will scale up our movement in the coming days. We want Gandhi’s India, not Savarkar’s,” she said.