Historian Ramachandra Guha, detained during protests in Bengaluru today over the citizenship law, said the enforcement of Section 144, a British-era ban on large gatherings, is the mark of a “paranoid, fearful and insecure” regime. He called it the “fourth or fifth” crisis the republic was going through since its independence.
“Shutting internet in Delhi? What signal will it send to the world? Is this a self-confident India,” Ram Guha questioned, speaking to NDTV after his release around four hours later.
“The British viceroy did the same thing. Indira Gandhi did the same thing. The police thought if they pick up 15 people in Bengaluru they would be scared. There was absolutely no reason to impose Section 144 unless you are plain stupid.”
The 61-year-old historian was at a protest at the Town Hall in Bengaluru speaking to the NDTV reporter when he was dragged mid-sentence by a group of policemen, detained and hauled into a bus.
“We were joined by hundreds of people of diverse religions and from their clothes you can’t tell if they were nationals or anti-nationals,” Mr Guha said, in a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment that those involved in arson and other violence could be identified by their clothes.
“I was holding a portrait of Gandhi and speaking about the constitution. I was picked up,” he shared, describing his detention from what was meant to be a peaceful protest.
“We have been through difficult times before, like Gandhi’s death, the Emergency in the 70s, the riots in the 1990s riots. This is the fourth major crisis in the country. We will get out of this but only if we are patient and work in a non-violent way,” said Mr Guha.
Thousands came out to the streets in various cities, some in defiance of Section 144 in cities like Bengaluru and Delhi, to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which allows non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to become Indian citizens easily. The exclusion of Muslims is discriminatory and against the constitution, those campaigning against the law believe.
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