Film by Sandhya Kumar | B·LORE by BIC | Round 2
In December 2019 the Indian Government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), sparking widespread protests throughout India. In New Delhi, a peaceful protest began in Shaheen Bagh, a small Muslim neighborhood, initially involving only 10 to 20 women. However, this movement quickly gained momentum, attracting thousands of participants who engaged in daily activities such as speeches, lectures, poetry sessions, and volunteers providing food for such participants.
Similar peaceful demonstrations were held in several cities across the country. In Bengaluru it was at Bilal Bagh on Tannery Road. While making her way to the protest gathering at Bilal Bagh, the filmmaker experienced a profound sense of unity; “we sat and sang together, united by the shared aspiration for a secular India. I spontaneously took out my mobile phone and started filming the young participants.”
The song “Wa yabqa wajh-o-rabbik”, popularly known as “Hum Dekhenge” (We Shall Bear Witness) became iconic during the CAA protests. The filmmaker came across the rendition on “Hum Dekhenge” in the young voices of Ayisha Abdul Basith and Dana Raziq. To her the song and their rendition of it represented the strength and spirit of youthful eyes at Bilal Bagh.
On March 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent nationwide lockdown, all protests, including those at Bilal Bagh and Shaheen Bagh were brought to an end.
