Commissioned Book Review: Seema Mustafa, Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India: Writings on a Movement for Justice, Liberty and Equality
| Author | Ahana Chakrabarti |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14789299221117446 |
| Published date | 01 May 2023 |
| Date | 01 May 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Commissioned Book Review |
Political Studies Review
2023, Vol. 21(2) NP17 –NP18
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Commissioned Book Review
1117446PSW0010.1177/14789299221117446Political Studies ReviewCommissioned Book Review
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Commissioned Book Review
Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India:
Writings on a Movement for Justice,
Liberty and Equality by Seema Mustafa.
New Delhi: Speaking Tiger Books LLP, 2020,
294 pp., £450, ISBN 9789389958157.
The night of 15 December 2019 witnessed a
swarm of Muslim women from lower-middle
class families gathered into the streets in
Shaheen Bagh. The locality in South-East Delhi
was overpowered by women and children
denouncing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act
passed in the parliament. The Act exclusively
grants fast-track citizenship to certain religious
groups (Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and
Buddhists) from three Muslim majority coun-
tries (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh)
while excluding other religious groups (Tamil
Hindus, Rohingya Muslims). The book Shaheen
Bagh and the Idea of India: Writings on a
Movement for Justice, Liberty and Equality is
premised upon the resistance shown by the
brave women and children against the nation-
state’s move towards a faith-based conception
of citizenship. The book makes also a testament
of the years of ostracization faced by Muslim or
other minorities.
This book, edited by Seema Mustafa, con-
tains contributions from journalists, thinkers,
lawyers and writers. It makes an anthropologi-
cal contribution to the field of popular resist-
ance and addresses the impending effects of the
slow erosion of equality, liberty and fraternity
in India. Shaheen Bagh is explored from two
perspectives: first as an explanation of the
movement which unleashes the state of democ-
racy in India, and second and as a call for rein-
vigorating democracy from the clutches of
majoritarianism.
The first two sections of the book address
how Muslim women break the barriers of state
and patriarchy to emerge as icons of the move-
ment without the help of any leader. This
showed the resilient nature of Muslim women
who were stereotyped as mere homemakers
burdened with domestic responsibilities. Time
and again, they were reminded by the state
authorities that they deserve to be incarcerated
within the private sphere of their households,
looking after their children and men and exer-
cising the ethics of care. However, these women
broke free from this simplistic caricature and
reclaimed the Hindu masculinist space. This
generated an idea of citizens who not only ques-
tion the deep seated prejudices guiding Indian
society, but who also raise their voices against
state-sanctioned violence inflicted upon the
minorities.
Furthermore, the book is a take on leaderless
movement. Without taking recourse to any lead-
ership, Shaheen Bagh united women across dif-
ferent identities to forge networks and build
solidarities. They joined the ‘pilgrimage’ (p. 16)
on their relentless march for justice echoing the
protest song ‘Hum Dekhenge’ (We will see) as
an emblem of liberty and equality. They also set
an example for other women who came up with
their own ‘Shaheen Baghs’ (p. 23). From Uttar
Pradesh to Kerala, hue and cry reverberated
across the nation against hate crimes and
repeated onslaughts upon the minorities.
The last section of the book examines the
underlying state of democracy in India and the
nation-state’s disdainful attitude towards some
of its citizens. The movement that went on for
months faced the biggest backlash in the form
of north-east Delhi riots. The authors mention
that not only do the protestors believe that the
riots were triggered by the hate speeches deliv-
ered by the BJP leaders, but they were also
affected by the way police officials treated the
young protestors. They reported horrific inci-
dents from young men facing the police baton
while being forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ to
young students with no violent record charged
with UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention
Act) by the present government for participating
in the movement. Nonetheless, through these
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