By Akif Zaidi
Tehran, Feb 6 : Hundreds of Indian students, professionals and businessmen living in Iran gathered outside the Indian Embassy Thursday to protest against the policies of the Indian government, especially the Citizenship Amendment Act and the planned NPR-NRC.
The protest led by Indian students studying in the holy city of Qom, began at 11am local time with the protestors reciting the national anthem. This was followed by a short speech by Maulana Shameem Raza in which he expressed (in advance) his gratitude to the Ambassador for passing on the protesters’ message of disapproval to the authorities in New Delhi. He exhorted those present to do their best to save India from the disaster looming over the country.
Maulana Muhammad Hussain Suratwala recited the preamble to the Constitution of India which was affirmed by the audience who pledged their commitment to the values of their constitution.
At the end, the memorandum was read by Maulana Najeebul Hasan Zaidi which was approved by the protesters.
Complete cancelation of the NPR-NRC project, the rollback of the CAA, dignity for Kashmiris, the safety of those protesting peacefully across India, and strict legal action against policemen and others responsible for attacking protesters were the main demands of resolution.
Support for the country’s education system and solidarity with students was also mentioned in the resolution.
An art competition for the children present at the protest was also held on the sidelines of protest. The children expressed their feelings on NRC-CAA and other Indian issues in creative ways.
The protesters kept shouting anti-CAA-NRC-NPR slogans with full enthusiasm during the event amid the a large number of uniformed Iranian police personnel who were present to ensure the safety and discipline at the protest.
The protesters were shocked and infuriated when they were denied to submit a copy of resolution to the Indian ambassador or any related official.
They were even no allowed to enter the premises of the embassy to reach out any official and talk to them after several requests.
The Embassy staff locked the doors and refused to answer the doorbell. This is perhaps a unique instance of Indian citizens being prevented from entering their own country’s embassy during office hours in any part of the world.