#Druv Rathee #Amitshah #NarendraModi #BarkhaDUTTA #RavishKumar The Citizenship Amendment Act protests, also known as the CAA and NRC protests, are an ongoing protests, taking place across India and overseas against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which was enacted into law on 12 December 2019, and against proposals to enact a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).[58] The protests began in Assam,[59] Delhi,[60] Meghalaya,[61] Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura on 4 December 2019.[36] In a few days, the protests spread across India, though the concerns of the protesters vary.[3][62]
The Amendment benefits Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi refugees[63] from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who sought refuge in India before 2015; the Amendment leaves out Muslims and others from these countries, as well as refugee Sri Lankan Tamils in India, Rohingyas from Myanmar, and Buddhist refugees from Tibet.[64][65] The proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be an official record of all legal citizens of India where individuals would have to provide a prescribed set of documents issued before a specified cutoff date for inclusion in the register. The exercise of the NRC has already been carried out in the state of Assam.[66] Those who fail to qualify for the NRC will be able to avail the benefits of the CAA if they claim to be religious minorities fleeing persecution from the listed countries.[63]
Protesters throughout India, see the new law as discriminating against Muslims and the poor who do not have access to valid proofs of citizenship, and as unconstitutional; they are demanding the amendment be scrapped and that the nationwide NRC not be implemented.[67][68][69] They are concerned that Muslim citizens of India, and poor Indians will be rendered stateless and put into detention camps, by the proposed nationwide NRC in combination with the CAA.[70][71][72][73] They are also concerned that all citizens will be affected by the bureaucratic exercise of the NRC where they will have to prove their citizenship for inclusion in the registry.[74][75] The protesters have raised voices against authoritarianism, the police crackdown in other universities and suppression of protests.[3][76]
Protesters in Assam and other northeastern states do not want Indian citizenship to be granted to any refugee or immigrant, regardless of their religion, as they fear it would alter the region's demographic balance, resulting in a loss of their political rights, culture, and land.[77][78][79] They are concerned that it will motivate further migration from Bangladesh as well as violate the Assam Accord, which was a prior agreement reached with the central government on migrants and refugees.[77][78][79]
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