Kolkata

 
Anti CAA-NRC Protest

In popular discourse, Kolkata is always imagined as a ‘political city’, due to three-decade long rule of the Left in the state of West Bengal, of which it is the capital. In the post-independence period after 1947, Kolkata received a significant proportion of the migrant population displaced by the partition that formed Bangladesh. Because of this migration history, over 20% of Kolkata residents identify as Muslim; naturally the enactment of the CAA-NRC bill stoked anxieties and memories of displacement and separation.

Following the CAA-NRC protest in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, Kolkata was one of the first cities to follow with its own occupation of public space. Initially, there were two sites of protest in the city: the Rajabazar area, and Park Circus Maidan. Each location was surrounded by overwhelmingly Muslim neighbourhoods – an important factor in the selection of the sites, as mobilisers highlighted in our interviews. Gradually, Park Circus became the main site due to its strategic advantages – the large open space of Park Circus Maidan not only provided an ideal territory for occupation, but also facilitated the mobilisation of resources due to the close proximity of many mosques. Additionally, being located in the centre of the city, the space was easily accessible and so could signal its political vision to a broader audience.

The intersection of gender, class and religiosity were clearly observable at Park Circus. Although the protest was initiated by a few left-leaning political activists and members of the Muslim community, the site witnessed the increasing, and then overwhelming, participation of Muslim women, who came to the fore of the movement. This transformed the occupation from its initial predominantly male beginnings to one that was women-centric. The site also witnessed the union of of religiosity with apparently secular left-leaning activists involved in background mobilisation, supported by various religious networks that provided food, bedding, tarpaulin and and other resources. Meanwhile, the Muslim women were involved in both the day-to-day running of occupation activities (giving speeches, identifying key speakers) and vital care work (cooking meals, childcare at the protest site).

– Raktim Ray