Baby Who Accompanied Mother To Shaheen Bagh Protests Dies After Catching Severe Cold

The women of Shaheen Bagh (a neighbourhood in southeast Delhi) have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) for 50 days.

According to The Times of India, one of the women taking part in the sit-in protest is a mother of three named Nazia. She has been going to the site since December 18 with her youngest child, four-month-old Mohammed Jahaan.

Day 50 of the #ShaheenBagh #CAA_NRCProtests

⁦@AbdurRahman_IPS⁩ , the IPS officer who resigned over the CAA, said, “Days and weeks have gone by. But months and years are yet to come. Be ready for a long fight.” pic.twitter.com/MZjPW5oOen

— Betwa Sharma (@betwasharma) February 2, 2020

On January 30, the infant contracted a severe cold and congestion due to the harsh winter and passed away, reports Business Standard. The Alshifa Hospital declared him DOA on January 31. His mother was quoted saying,

“I had returned from Shaheen Baag at around 1 AM. After putting him and other kids to sleep, even I went to sleep. In the morning, I suddenly found him motionless. He was gone in his sleep.”

Nazia, Shaheen Bagh protestor whose 4-month-old infant passed away: My son had caught cold, there was no other health issue. We'll still go to protest for our country. We don't have any documents, what will we do? We demand that Modi ji & Amit Shah ji should take back CAA&NRC. pic.twitter.com/gv99aRIW81

— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2020

India Today further quoted her adding,

“Why was I doing this? For my children and the children of all us who need a bright future in this country. The CAA divides us on religion and should never be accepted. I don’t know if there is politics involved but I know that I must question what is against the future of my children.”

The father, Mohammed Arif was quoted saying,

“I haven’t been able to earn enough in the last month despite driving the battery rickshaw in addition to my embroidery work. Now with our baby’s demise, we have lost everything. Had the government not brought CAA and NRC, people would not have protested and my wife would not have joined them, my son would have been alive.”

The couple from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, lives in a shanty in the Batla House area with a five-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. Nazia has said that she will continue to protest at Shaheen Bagh without her children.

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