Anti-CAA, NPR protests amidst COVID-19: Women's groups ask govt to negotiate

Counterview Desk
Several women's organisations, collectives and individuals* have called upon the State and Central governments, institutions, authorities and elected representatives to urgently address take executive measures to ensure that the entire the process of National Population Register (NPR) data collection is deferred immediately.
Issued against the wake of increasing pressure to withdraw protests because of COVID-19, in a statement reflecting what they calls "genuine concerns of several thousands of protesting women throughout the country despite the corona pandemic", they suggest the onus is on the government authorities for ending the protests.
In Delhi, where the police forced clear the Shaheen Bagh protest site on Tuesday morning, bringing curtains down on the three-month-old agitation led by Muslim women against NPR, National Register of Citizens (NCR) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A total of nine protesters, including six women, were detained.
Seeking total withdrawal of NPR, NCR and CAA in due course, the statement says, "It is easy for the government institutions and agencies to withdraw the NPR/NRC/CAA, and allow the protestors to resume their daily lives rather than risking the deadly disease."
Claiming that such a move would be "in the larger interest of humanity" and would be recognised as "a gracious move by the government", the statement, signed by 70 individuals and a dozen organizations, including National Federation of Indian Women, Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan, Saheli Women's Resource Centre, and All India Democratic Women’s Association, says that this alone would address "burning concerns of women."

The statement claims to reflect genuine concerns of thousands of protesting women across the country despite the corona pandemic

According to the statement, "As the country is gearing up to fight the threat of the corona virus pandemic, an equally enormous concern is looming over the women of India. For the last few months, thousands of women have been sitting in protest throughout the country, representing the concerns of majority of the population in demanding withdrawal of the NPR/NRC/CAA project."

It adds, "The gravity of their concerns can be gauged by their continued assertion that even if they survive the corona virus, they will still face a cruel and inhuman death at detention centres."

Yet, it regrets, both central and state governments and institutions have "consistently refused to engage with these peacefully protesting citizens, instead making them a target to malign, attack and deride."
The statement believes, "It is a fact that galvanizing the undivided energy of the women from every home, where all preventive measures such as physical distancing, will actually be playing out, is imperative if the country is to fully fight the pandemic."
"In the face of such an unprecedented challenge", it says, "Women have come forward with innovative methods to continue the challenge to NPR/NRC/CAA while joining the fight against corona. The fight against one cannot dilute the other."
It asserts, "As representatives of women’s collectives, movements and organizations, and as individuals working for human and gender rights, we reiterate our support to the women’s protests against NPR/NRC/CAA the across the country. We appeal to the elected representatives of the people to withdraw the process of NPR/NRC."

"We need to work together to fight both the pandemics of Covid 19 and the looming threat of detention camps. Repeal CAA, no NPR/NRC, no corona epidemic. That is our collective demand", the statement concludes.

---

Click here for signatories

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

Search This Blog