Fresh protests were expected across India on Monday over a new citizenship law seen as anti-Muslim, after clashes overnight in the capital and days of unrest in the northeast that left six people dead.
The bill fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from three neighbouring countries, but critics allege it is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda to marginalise India’s 200 million Muslims – something he denies.
On Sunday evening thousands took to the streets in the northeast, the scene of days of rioting and deadly running battles with police, while other protests were reported across India in Delhi, Aligarh, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Patna and Raipur.
Violent clashes
In the capital, officers fired tear gas and charged with batons as several thousand demonstrators marched, and rallied outside the Jamia Millia Islamia university and police headquarters.
Four buses and two police vehicles were reportedly set ablaze.
“We are concerned that India’s new Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 is fundamentally discriminatory in nature. We hope the Supreme Court of #India will consider carefully the compatibility of the law with India’s international human rights obligations.” — @UNHumanRights
16.9K1:05 PM – Dec 13, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy12.4K people are talking about this
Some protesters shared videos that apparently showed policemen causing destruction of property amid the protests.
Ramprasad #Indian@uramprasadm1
Bravery award should be given to these police.#shame #DelhiPolice #DelhiBurning386:12 PM – Dec 15, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy43 people are talking about this
Others also accused the government of blaming protesters for violence carried out by its own security personnel.
Thank God, the water bottle is clearly visible in this video #JamiaProtest #JamiaMilia #Delhi154:59 PM – Dec 15, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee प्रवीण दीक्षित ‘s other Tweets
Caught Red Handed!
Police in #Delhi burning buses and falsely blaming it on peaceful Muslim students of Jamia Millia Islamia University#IndiaToEndia#CABPolitics
615:27 PM – Dec 15, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy56 people are talking about this
Dozens injured
Police stormed the university campus, with media outlets reporting as many as 100 students and a dozen officers were injured.
Around 50 people were detained and released after a night behind bars on Monday, police said.
Students insisted in a statement that they disassociated themselves from any violence.
#HindusAgainstCAB Desi Bhai Einstein @DesiPoliticks
Dear Delhi Police,
Who is this lati-charging person? Does not look like your office on-duty uniform?#JamiaProtest #JamiaMilia #BJPburningDelhi #DelhiPolice
“We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and non-violent. We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence,” they declared.
Shivangi Choubey@ChoubeyShivangi
And they throw stones in Kashmir you said?
This is the Police throwing stones on students of Jamia Millia Islamia.
What is this hatred towards Muslim students?
You don’t pelt stones in JNU and DU. You did in Jamia. Why?#CABProtests#CABBill2019 #Jamia
Authorities in northern Uttar Pradesh have snapped internet access in western parts of the state following the demonstrations on Aligarh, home to a large university and a sizeable Muslim population.
However, the main epicentre of the protests has been in India’s far-flung northeastern states, long a seething and violent melting pot of ethnic tensions.
There people are opposed to the citizenship law because they fear it will allow several hundred thousand immigrants from Bangladesh, many of them Hindu, to stay.
On Sunday night in Assam state – following days of rioting and clashes with police that have left six people dead – around 6,000 people protested on Sunday evening, with no major incidents reported.
The UN human rights office said last week it was concerned the law “would appear to undermine the commitment to equality before the law enshrined in India’s constitution”.
Modi on Sunday blamed the main opposition Congress party and its allies for the unrest, while Home Minister Amit Shah called again for calm.
“Culture, language, social identity and political rights of our brothers and sisters from the northeast will remain intact,” Shah said in a speech.
The new law is being challenged in the Supreme Court by rights groups and a Muslim political party, arguing that it is against the constitution and India’s secular traditions.Source: AFP