Meanwhile, a peaceful march in Old Delhi

While the leaderless crowd was evidently confused about the next step of action — whether to move towards old police headquarters at ITO or the Turkman Gate, and whether to block roads or let traffic pass — at no point did the protest get out of hand.

The protesters heavily outnumbered policemen, who were not more than 20 and without lathis. The march went through adjoining areas all through the day and culminated at Turkman Gate. Traffic was allowed to pass and women and children were helped in crossing the road.

Mohd Zahid (23), a nursing assistant at the nearby Lok Nayak Hospital, said he was protesting the new law and the assault on Jamia students.

“Today they are excluding Muslims, tomorrow they will target Dalits. We have to resist this together,” he said.

Mohd Sagir (40), who works in a cosmetic shop in the area, said the law would have far-reaching consequences.

“The government also wants to create the Hindu-Muslim binary, and divide and rule like the the British. They want to divert attention from real issues like the state of the economy. The way other countries are responding to the law, it will also affect tourism and the economy will take a further hit,” he said.