On India’s 71st Republic Day, protests were held against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Kraków, Poland.
The Indian diaspora in Kraków – flanked by some Polish citizens – organized a protest at the Rynek Głowny in Kraków, Poland on 26 January 2020. Calling the ‘unconstitutional and divisive,’ the protesters expressed solidarity with the students, the youth and women leading the protests in India.
The protest gave voice to speeches, slogans, singing and poetry, placards and posters – chants of ‘azaadi’ were raised and Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ was sung in unison by the protesters voicing their dissent against the CAA and the NRC. The protesters also read out the Preamble to the Constitution of India.
“We are fighting for the idea of India as envisaged by our founding fathers and recorded in the constitution. We are challenging the onslaught of communal and divisive forces and will continue until our goal is met,” said a protestor.
All the organisers of the protest were women, which the organisers say brings a small spirit of Shaheen Bagh.
“Our aim is to emphasize the unconstitutional nature of the Act on the very day that the constitution was adopted as the guiding principle of our nation,” one of the protest’s organisers said.
Poland has seen a wave of protests against their own constitutional rights and therefore holding the banner ‘Save the Constitution’ resonated with the Poles, the organisers added.
“By singing songs of revolution and change, we are voicing our peaceful protest. This is our right as Indian citizens and we will not give it up, no matter what,” said one of the organisers.
When the speech about the significance of the Shaheen Bagh protest was delivered, from afar, an Indian from the crowd shouted ‘’Hamaari Naari, Saabe Bhari” (our women, strongest) showing their support to women in India and the women who came forward to organise this protest despite much resistance.
The Kraków protest was the latest in the string of such demonstrations held across the world, including Europe and the United States, where students, the Indian diaspora and local communities have come out to voice their opposition to the CAA.