By Safoora Nuzhath,
HYDERABAD: The open ground of the historic Eidgah Mir Alam which witnesses’ biggest congregation only twice a year on the occasion of festivals, saw a mammoth gathering on Friday.
The Tiranga Rally was taken out under the aegis of the United Muslim Action Committee comprising various groups and headed by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).
The gates of Eidgah Miralam saw thousands entering. Makkah Masjid Imam Maulana Rizwan Qureshi delivered the Friday sermon and led the prayers.
Soon after Friday prayers, the Tiranga Rally began. There was a deluge of protesters on the streets with tens of thousands carrying the Tricolor.
Tis the season of patriotism and protest
‘Tis the season of patriotism and protest. And the sight on Friday, the day of the Tiranga Rally, called by the United Muslim Action Committee, was a sight to behold. All roads leading to the rally route was aflutter with tens of thousands of Indian flags in all sizes.
The largest one was around 200 feet in length protesters carried it as a sign of patriotism. The Tricolour was being both sold and handed to protesters free of charge. A flag fluttered atop a crane, several feet into the air. A protester climbed atop another crane, opposite the Eidgah Miralam, and began waving it.
AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi led the rally that began from the Eidgah and culminated in a public meeting at Shastripuram grounds, which is closer to the newly constructed mansion of the MP.
Owaisi discouraged the crowd from showing official documents. He also said that there was no need for people to show documents such Aadhaar cards to anybody.
He also sought to know from the crowd whether they would show police or government officials documents like the Aadhaar card. He said that when such documents are being asked for residents should reiterate that they are citizens of India and implied that they should not produce documents.
“We demand that the CAA be taken back. We demand that NPR and NRC be scrapped completely,” Mr Owaisi said.
A host of speakers, including Maulana Jafar Pasha, Syed Akbar Nizamuddin Hussaini, Mufti Mahmood Zubair and others, took to the stage and demanded that they demanded that the BJP-led government repeal the CAA and put an end to it NRC.
An enthused crowd also had elderly men and women.
Holding national flags and placards, the participants sang National Anthem apart from raising ‘Azadi’ slogans.
Mr Owaisi slammed Prime Minster Narendra Modi and said that the citizens of the State and city, in unison, had given him a clear message – that they reject the CAA, the NRC and the NPR. The Hyderabad Parliamentarian reiterated his demand that the CAA be taken back and an immediate halt be put on the NRC and the NPR.
Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed in several parts of Old City. Plus where there is patriotism and a fight for justice, there is also humaneness. For, even as the NH – 44 was packed with protesters, they gave way to an ambulance.
Million March
This is the second biggest protest in Hyderabad against CAA, NRC and NPR after the Million March which was organised on 4th January by 40 organisations and led by Mushtaq Malik, a socio-political activist.
Last week’s Million March had about two lakh people at Dharna Chowk, Indra Park against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).