Protests in Assam continue in the wake of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Central Government.
On the 16th of December, the Assam Police arrested as many as 200 Indian National Congress (INC) workers for indulging in violence in Assam.
Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, the Chief of Assam Police, addressed the media and reported the arrest of 190 protestors and 136 registered cases. Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta further said besides making these arrests, the Assam Police detained approximately 3,000 people.
When asked for a justification about opening fire on the protestors, the Assam Police said they fired to save the people and the property in the region. Due to the open fire by Police, 4 people were killed in the Assam protests.
The Assamese are protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which promises citizenship to refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christian, Jains and Buddhists and are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The Assamese, who are struggling to save their culture, identity and language, fear they would lose these 3 completely if outsiders and non Assamese people enter their area and disturb their culture.
Apart from Assam, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 provoked protests across India, including in Delhi, West Bengal, Hyderabad, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. However, these regions are protesting against the violation of India being a secular country and the exclusion of the Muslim community.
One such huge protest is going on at the Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI) university in Delhi and the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police and the Uttar Pradesh Police are trying to control the situation which is worsening. There was damage to Indian Railways’ property worth Rs. 250 crores and two students were injured.
The SC is scheduled to hear the petition concerning the violence against the JMI and AMU students on the 17th of December.
