Lucknow: Poet Munawwar Rana’s Daughters Among 16 Booked For Anti-CAA Protests

Two daughters of famous Urdu poet Munawwar Rana were among 16 booked by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the anti-CAA protest at Clock Tower, in Lucknow’s Chowk area. Three separate FIRs were lodged late on Monday night at the Thakurganj police station. The FIR against the two daughters of Munnawar Rana, Sumaiya and Fauzia Rana, also includes eight to ten unnamed protesters.

Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey had imposed Section 144 of the CrPC on Sunday in view of the Republic Day celebrations.

Several women along with children squatted near the Clock Tower in Lucknow's old quarters evening protesting the amended citizenship law and the planned National Register of Citizens (NRC).

According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and face religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

Congress spokesperson Sadaf Jafar, who was arrested in connection with violence during anti-CAA protests in the Uttar Pradesh capital last month and released a few days back, said, “During anti-CAA protests earlier, the police had beaten up women, children and registered cases under stringent sections of the law.”

“It is now to be seen what steps the police take to oppress these women. CAA is against the country’s Constitution and is also against the soul of the country,” she said, and asked, “In a democratic and secular country like India, how could the government think of giving citizenship on the basis of a religion?”

What protestors have to say

One of the protestor Warish Saleem said, “The protest is on the lines of the Shaheen Bagh protests, and the stir will continue till the CAA and NRC are rolled back.”

Besides Delhi, protests have unfolded in several parts of the country over the contentious law since it was passed on December 11 and have led to clashes at several places including Uttar Pradesh, where nearly 20 people have died.

According to the amended law, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The law excludes Muslims.