Abstract

The Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi which began in December 2019 and continued into early 2020 marked a landmark moment in India’s democratic history. Organized primarily by women many of them elderly and from minority Muslim communities the protest was a response to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). This paper examines the Shaheen Bagh movement as a turning point in grassroots resistance highlighting how women’s leadership peaceful sit-ins and cultural forms of protest transformed the nature of democratic participation in India. It also explores the movement’s challenges its cultural strategies and its enduring legacy for democratic politics in India.