Women from Assam Leading Nationwide Protests against CAA, says JNU Student

Guwahati, January 19, 2019:

Sanskriti Rajkhowa, an Assamese girl currently pursuing higher studies at the esteemed Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, has opined that Assamese women have been at the forefront of the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, not only in Assam, but also in other parts of the country.

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Speaking to this reporter on the sidelines of an all-women protest in Guwahati earlier today, Sanskriti stated that in protests across the nation, women from Assam have played a key role. "I think the Assamese women -- even through cultural performances, through showcasing folk songs -- even in JNU -- we have been doing a series of events."

The JNU student further added that Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, where several women have congregated and refused to budge for many days now, stands as a beacon of hope for women, and added that much can also be learnt from the 'spontaneous' protest that was held earlier today in Guwahati metro by the concerned women citizens from all walks of life.

"We see that migration has again and aa. On the Northeast, we have 145 ST tribes -- and many sub-tribes", Sanskriti stated, adding that the migration into the Northeast that has been occurring since colonial times, continues to be a pressing matter.

Sanskriti further informs us that she was present at JNU when the spine-chilling attack on the students by masked goons took place. "What happened in JNU was that the right wing forces attacking and maligning our campus for over 3 years now under our Vice . There was a fee hike movement that has been going on for 80 days now and against the backdrop of that movement for affordable education for all students", adding that masked goons charged into the hostel, but were held back by women students. Sanskriti informed that in JNU, too, women have played a key role in the protests.

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'"That is absolutely what we who are in the mainland studying ever since 2016", Sanskriti said, lauding the Northeast Indian people for raising their voice against the legislation so strongly that the Bill had to be shelved by the Government earlier last year. Lambasting the ruling dispensation, the JNU student further added that the current regime must stop its "anti-minority" policy and the alienation of a huge chunk of the citizenry with controversial legislations such as the CAA and the NRC.

It may be mentioned that a similar sentiment was echoed by the renowned music composer Vishal Dadlani, who tweeted that Assam is leading the voices against the controversial NRC-CAA combo of the BJP party, but the mainstream media does not know it yet.

Dadlani had ended his tweet with "Joi Aai Axom" (glory to mother Assam), a rallying cry of the anti-CAA brigade protesting against the contentious CAA in Assam.

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