The women at Park Circus chanted slogans like any other day but there seemed to be a hint of jubilation in their voice.
The BJP’s defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls after a hate-filled campaign had brought hope to the women who have been on vigil at Park Circus Maidan against the amended citizenship regime for over a month.
“The Delhi vote has shown that this movement is not of Muslims alone, but of Indians,” said Debu Shaw, a volunteer at Park Circus, as the crowd broke into applause.
Indians want a different India, this is a victory of “a people’s movement”, some of the women said. The protesters shouted: “Delhi janata zindabad/Mahila ekta zindabad (Hail the people of Delhi/Hail the unity of women)”.
“It is the people’s vote that brought victory to the BJP (in the Lok Sabha elections) and it is because of the people’s vote that the BJP has tasted defeat in Delhi. The party should not forget that if people want, they can vote a party out of power,” Noor Jahan Begum, 50, said.
The mood had been forlorn and the spirits low on the protest ground on Monday evening in the aftermath of the attack on students of Jamia Millia Islamia.
But news from the Capital came as a mood-lifter on Tuesday. “I was anxious last night but today I feel stronger. We are hopeful. It is this hope that will make us win,” said Nausheen Baba Khan, a PhD research scholar.
The protesters were joined in their belief by many visitors, who drop in almost every day to show solidarity.
Some came earlier than usual to share the joy with their friends at Park Circus Maidan. “I come here at 8pm every day and stay on till midnight. But today I came around 6pm because I feel it is a first step towards our victory,” Saltanat Ali, 45, said.
Scriptwriter Sarbari Ghoshal, another regular at Park Circus, came with 3kg of laddoos to celebrate.
“The results show that the BJP’s divisive policy has been rejected by the masses. People want employment, education and development, which are not on their (BJP’s) agenda. They have lost despite the police being with them,” she said.
Adding strength to the movement were schoolteachers and college students. “It is the victory of kalam (pen) against kamal (lotus),” said Piya Saha, a student.
“But this victory is only at a micro level. The protest at the macro level is still on and that victory will come only when Kashmir’s voice will stop being strangulated.”
Rupali Sachdev, a teacher, came for the “future of our country”. “I think I don’t have the right to teach if I don’t come here. I cannot talk about inclusion and compassion and discrimination against marginalised communities if I can’t come here and stand by these women,” she said. “The youth of the country has been inspirational and the education system has been able to inspire the youth.”
A group of teachers, students and homemakers from Domjur staged a street play that took a dig or two at the BJP. “Door se dekha to beti bachao beti padhao, paas jakar dekha to beti par lathi barsao. (From a distance it seemed like beti bachao beti padhao, but from near it was hit the girl with the lathi).
