Protests mount against India’s citizenship bill
Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's attempt to give citizenship to "persecuted" Hindus from Bangladesh has run into a mounting resistance in seven of the eight north eastern states of India with street protests against the move having become almost a regular feature for the last two weeks.
Hundreds of student-activists hit the streets in the latest round of protests on Monday in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram and voices of dissent have emerged from Tripura and Manipur states against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
The Bill was placed in the Lok Sabha, Lower House of Parliament, to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 and key change in it seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan after six years of their stay in India.
The apex bodies of students' unions in the seven northeast states, under the aegis of North East Students Organisation (NESO), organised sit-ins on Monday in their respective state capitals, demanding immediate scrapping of the proposed legislation.
The All Assam Students Union (AASU) staged a sit-n in Guwahati saying the Bill is "unacceptable" and the identity of the indigenous people would be at stake if it is passed by Parliament, according to NESO Adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.
He asked the Indian government to start a dialogue with Bangladesh government to ensure deportation of the "Bangladeshis living illegally" in the region and said NESO would submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister, demanding constitutional safeguards for the states.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) said they would continue the stir till the time the government concedes to their demands. AAPSU President Hawa Bagang alleged the Indian government had no regard for the indigenous people of the region.
He said the AAPSU would organise more such democratic movements under the aegis of NESO in the interest of the indigenous people.
"The Bangladeshi refugees, who have been residing illegally in our state, would be asked to leave," he said, adding "we will soon serve notices to all the Bangladeshis who have sneaked into our state after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft was released in Assam," the AAPSU president said.
The Naga Students' Federation (NSF) also opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 saying the Northeast should not be made a "dumping ground of illegal immigrants", Imtiyapang Imsong, vice president of the apex students' body in Nagaland, told reporters.
"The unabated influx of refugees and undocumented migrants from the neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh, has threatened the existence of indigenous people," he said.
The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) urged the legislators of Mizoram to adopt a resolution to reject the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016. The MZP also organised a rally in Mizoram capital Aizawl to register their protest over the proposed bill.
In Agartala, the Twipra Students' Federation (TSF) said Tripura was the "worst victim" of illegal migration. "After the partition of the country, thousands of people from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, had migrated to Tripura. As a result, the aboriginal people of the state were reduced to a minority. The tribals now constitute 31 percent of the state's population," TSF secretary Sunil Debbarma said.
In Shillong, capital of Meghalaya, NESO and the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) burnt an effigy as a mark of protest against the Bill.
A 16-member Joint Parliamentary Committee, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Rajendra Agarwal, had recently held public hearings in Assam and Meghalaya to elicit views on the proposed Bill. Agarwal said the views and recommendations of the Committee would be compiled in a report and submitted to Parliament.