New Delhi: People across Delhi witnessed a different kind of New Year's Eve at Jamia Millia Islamia as the students along with the locals protesting against CAA and NRC at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh rang in 2020 singing the National Anthem.
In videos doing the rounds on the internet, students along with locals could be seen demanding 'Azadi' (freedom) from CAA and NRC, while several roamed around waving national flags with creative placards against the new law.
As the clock struck 12, the protesting crowd sang the national anthem, followed by the slogan "Inquilab Zindabad".
However, in some videos and photos some could be seen distributing biryani among the fellow protesters.
The banners set on the stage read 'The Azadi Night' (The Freedom Night).
Twitteratti appreciated the move and #NationalAnthem started trending with 32.2K Tweets, following which a user wrote: "Goosebumps..Jab Delhi ki fizaaon me JAN GAN MAN ADHINAYAK JAYA HAI ki awaaz goonj uthi. Temp around 2 degree but people celebrate 2020 with National Anthem under the open sky with their infants. SALUTE This is the true love with their Nation #ShaheenBagh."
A user while sharing the video, captioned: "That's how we welcomed the new year - with the national anthem and cries of 'hum ek hain'. #InqalaabZindabaad."
Irshad Alam, a 25-year-old resident of Shaheen Bagh, stood with his one-year-old in his arm and his wife by his side. He said he'd been participating in the protest every day.
"It's freezing here," he said, "But we are still here because we care about this movement." More than 200 people gathered in and around a makeshift stage in the Muslim neighbourhood chanting slogans and reciting poetry.
Resident Maqsood Alam said protesters were not afraid of a police crackdown.
"We've been expecting that every day. But I'll tell you one thing," he said. "This crowd here is not afraid of the government. They are ready to give their lives for this movement. We won't leave here until the government takes back the law." Poetry recitals and speeches had been planned by organisers at a protest outside New Delhi's Jamia Millia University, which was stormed by police this month.
"New Year's resolution to defend the constitution," read the schedule for another protest planned in New Delhi, now in the grip of its second coldest winter in more than a century.
