Flower Power: After Violence over Revised Citizenship Act, Lawyers in Barabanki Turn Peacemakers

Lucknow: Protests since last weekend in several parts of the country against the revised citizenship law have seen the blossoming of student activism while also emerging as a thorny security challenge for authorities. In Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district, however, groups of lawyers have found a fragrant way to display their opposition to violence occurring during demonstrations over the amended Act.

The advocates distributed flowers among people coming to the district court on Friday, against the backdrop of fierce protests in state capital Lucknow a day earlier during which one person was killed and several others injured.

The lawyers condemned people doing petty politics over the campaigns in favour of and against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and urged people not to get involved in any kind of violent activities. While handing out flowers to those present in the court campus, they also requested them not to get divided on communal lines and to stay united in any situation.

Speaking to News18, lawyer Hisal Bari said, “We are witnessing protests in support of and against the CAA even without knowing it and some people are politcising the issue. The way protests are getting violent, it is only damaging the public property. We should give more value to our relations and brotherhood and that is why we have come out to give a message of brotherhood to the people of Barabanki. Any kind of violence is highly condemnable as it is not the remedy for any problem.”

The CAA makes it easier to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Critics say the law discriminates against Muslims and fails the constitutional principles of secularism and equality.

Another lawyer present on the spot, Atul Kumar Pandey, said, “People from adjoining districts come to the Barabanki court and that is why we thought it will be the perfect spot for giving a message of peace to the people. We are distributing flowers to everyone and reminding them not to fall in any trap and to maintain harmony and friendship at any cost.”

Thursday’s protests in Lucknow saw one death while many were injured, including policemen, as angry mobs set several vehicles ablaze including police cars and OB vans of news channels. Mobile internet services were snapped in several parts of the state as a precautionary measure by authorities.