If you travel through Kerala these days, chances are high that you might come across a few novel protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Sample these. Brides and grooms heading to the marriage ceremony with placards slamming anti-Citizenship Amendment Act. Reception ceremonies of the newly-weds becoming venues to express solidarity with the anti-CAA protests elsewhere in the country. A soon-to-be-married couple shot their save-the-date photo, holding 'No CAA' and 'No NRC' placards. Even venues of Christmas celebration too were turned into protest venues with Santa Clause carrying anti-CAA posters and photos of Gandhiji and Ambedkar, instead of usual sack of gifts.
These peaceful protests, which drew parallels between the protests in New Delhi where students offered roses to police – have become a huge hit in cyberspace.
Santa with anti-CAA posters
A group of MBA students from the Mahatma Gandhi University's School of Management and Business Studies in Kottayam organised Christmas celebrations recently with Santa Clauses carrying posters against CAA and photographs of Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar.
MBA student Sharon Sunny said the event was organised to express their solidarity with anti-CAA protesters across the country. “It was our protest against fascism and discrimination on the basis of religion,” he said.
Save-the-date photo
Arun Gopi and Asha Shekhar, who will tie the knot on January 30, 2020, sprang a huge surprise recently when they decided to shoot their save-the-date photo, holding placards against CAA and NRC. (Save-the-date photo is an innovating way of announcing the marriage date.).
Arun, a social activist and treasurer at Thiruvananthapuram District Council for Child Welfare, said the most relevant thing right now is to protests against the CAA and NRC. “I wanted to send a message through the save-the-date card. Asha, who is a journalist, too agreed with my idea. So we decided to make the photo a political statement.”
