In the midst of the nationwide agitation against CAA-NRC-NPR lies a heartwarming tale of humanity, of how thousands of Indians who do not know one another have pitched in to raise money for the poor families of those killed in the anti-CAA protests.
Crowdfunding campaigns hosted on OurDemocracy, a popular fundraising platform, have raised a total of more than 40 lakh rupees for the families of five victims.
Overwhelmed in 24 Hours
As the protests against CAA and NRC grew through the second half of December, so did the indiscriminate excesses of the UP Police. On 20 December, 22-year-old Anas died due to police firing in western Uttar Pradesh. "He said he would fetch milk from a family friend's place. As soon as he stepped out of the alley to the main street, he was hit on his left eye," Anas’ grieving father Arshad Hussain had told The Quint.
The campaign to help his family was the first of this series of crowdfunding initiatives on OurDemocracy. On the first day of the new year, the message that went out was simple.
“On 20 December, at Nehtaur in Bijnor district, 22-year-old Anas was allegedly gunned down by UP police. Now his family seeks our help to survive. Contribute now.”
Within 24 hours of the campaign going live, as many as 725 supporters from across India pitched in to raise more than 10 lakh rupees for Anas’ family.
The family members could hardly believe the generosity that complete strangers had shown towards them. Risalat Hussain, Anas’ uncle told The Quint, “The financial situation of the family is very poor. This crowdfunding effort has been akin to putting an injection into a dying person.”
Even as he mourned the death of his son, Arshad Hussain was full of gratitude.
‘What Can We Do?’
How did the idea to conduct this initiative take root, I ask Bilal Zaidi, co-founder of OurDemocracy and someone who was instrumental in coordinating the overall campaign.
“A few people had reached out asking if we are running any crowdfunding campaigns for these victims’ families. Others were discussing whether there is a way in which they could help these families with their personal livelihoods, legal expenses, etc.”Bilal Zaidi, co-founder of OurDemocracy
For Yash Marwah, a Bengaluru-based professional who worked with OurDemocracy on these campaigns, the violence on students at Jamia Millia Islamia was the tipping point, “Things were going down for a long time. And then I saw those horrific images from Jamia. I couldn’t sit still anymore. I wanted to help however possible.”
And it is from those conversations that the campaign began, in the search for answers to “What can we do?”.
Bilal says, “Because there were multiple people who wanted to pitch in, we thought that we should have a coordinated approach for this. Since we are a tiny startup and this required a large effort, we mobilised a small community through WhatsApp groups. It was these groups that drove the campaign.”
Yash adds, “Through the WhatsApp groups, we pooled in our resources and efforts. If someone could help with the research, they were welcome to do so. If someone was good at design, they could assist with that.”
‘Ek Chhota Recharge’
Amir Hanzala, an 18-year-old boy from Bihar, was participating in an anti-CAA protest on the outskirts of Patna on 21 December.
According to a report in The Telegraph, when bricks began flying between the demonstrators and supporters of the new act, Amir, with the Indian tricolour aloft in his hand, seems to have had run for his life. He was not seen since. Ten days later, on New Year’s Eve, his body was found with severe wounds.
The crowdfunding campaign for Amir’s family raised 10.26 lakh rupees, with contributions from more than 800 supporters.
It hasn’t always been about large contributions though. For Yash, the most heartwarming moment from the campaigns was a simple tweet by an account named ‘Common Man’, who had donated to the fund for Amir Hanzala’s family.
Yash recounts, “The campaign for Amir’s family was on. And someone tweeted after making a contribution saying that it was 'Ek chhota recharge meri taraf se chhote bhai ke liye. (A small recharge from me for my younger brother.)' I still don’t have words to explain how I felt after reading that one line.”
“I told myself, 'Wow, there are people like this. Looking out for each other.' Because it’s not just about people donating 50,000 rupees or 1 lakh rupees. It’s about contributions like these.”Yash Marwah, OurDemocracy
On a phone conversation with Bilal, Amir’s father Sohail Ahmad had told him, “We had no idea that these kind of people exist in the country. People who are willing to give their money in support, and not just offer solidarity from afar.”
Speaking to The Quint, Sohail added, “We are immensely grateful for the funds that have been raised. They have provided some relief for our financial condition, and will help sustain our family and raise the remaining children. But you know, the real loss will never go away. I cannot tell you how lonely it has been.”
Being in touch with families who have recently lost a loved one, there have been many such heart-wrenching moments for those working on the campaigns as well. Bilal recalls speaking to another father who had lost his son. “He told me bluntly, 'You think I need money? We don’t need anybody’s money. We just need justice for my son’s death.'”
‘Want to Redefine Armchair Activism’
“I want to redefine the phrase ‘armchair activism’. Ghar baithe bohot kuch kiya ja sakta hai. There is a lot that can be done from home. Not that you should only do that, but that is also a way of contributing.”Yash Marwah
If anything, the numbers on these crowdfunding campaigns vindicate Yash’s belief.
Asif Khan and Aleem Ansari were shot dead during anti-CAA protests in Meerut. For Asif’s family, 650 supporters raised more than 10.5 lakh rupees, and for Aleem’s kin, 497 donors raised more than 8 lakhs.
And for the family of Suleman, the 20-year-old UPSC aspirant who was also allegedly killed by UP Police, close to 200 people have pitched in, raising nearly 4 lakh rupees.
OurDemocracy also decided to forego their platform fee for these campaigns, ensuring that the entire amount raised went to the families. Bilal explains, “We felt it was important that we don’t make this into a commercial venture, which is why we made an announcement that we are not charging a platform fee for any of these campaigns.”
The Importance of Citizens Stepping In
Apart from the solidarity and support that people have shown for those who have lost their family members in the crackdown on the anti-CAA protests, there is another important function that these campaigns have served, according to Bilal Zaidi.
“At the end of the day, you expect the governments to offer ex-gratia compensation in such cases, when somebody dies due to police firing. That has been the tradition in this country. In these cases, it was the State which was the oppressor but they were not even willing to offer the bare minimum support that families expect. So, it was very important for the citizens to step in. In a democracy, it is the job of the citizens to step in every time the state lets you down.”
And as these past couple of months have shown, the citizens have stepped up.
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