At least 23 have died so far as violent protests against the controversial citizenship law that excludes Muslim immigrants continues to sweep the country despite the government's ban on public assembly and suspension of internet services in many parts.?
The resentment against the bill that has been outrightly rejected by quite a significant proportion of the Indian population, including the governments in at least five states and noted personalities from the fields of arts, culture and the sciences, first surfaced itself in the form of violent clashes that erupted in the northeastern flank of the country while the bill was tabled in the Parliament by Home Minister Amit Shah.?
News agency Associated Press has reported that nine people died in clashes with police in Uttar Pradesh. State police spokesman Pravin Kumar confirmed the number. He was quoted as saying that most of the victims were young people but denied police were responsible.
Ą°Some of them died of bullet injuries, but these injuries are not because of police fire. The police have used only tear gas to scare away the agitating mob,'' he said.
Just as the Bill was passed by both the houses of the Parliament, protests began to surface in other parts of the country but the current situation came into being as a direct result of a brutal clampdown on students of a central university.?
The police barged into the premises of Jamia Millia Islamia, firing tear gas shells and assaulting students. Bloodstains, shattered glasses and wild cries of students in desperation set the stage for a spontaneous showdown against the ruling establishment.??
Over the past week, the people are on the streets even as police has resorted to brutal force in their attempt to curb demonstrations. The imposition of Section 144 that prohibits such demonstrations and gatherings has also irked the opponents of the controversial law.?
At least a dozen vehicles were set on fire as protesters rampaged through the northern cities of Rampur, Sambhal, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnore and Kanpur, where a police station was also torched.?
The backlash against the law marks the strongest show of dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government since he was first elected in 2014.
The law allows Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally to become citizens if they can show they were persecuted because of their religion in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims.
Critics have slammed the legislation as a violation of India's secular constitution and have called it the latest effort by the Modi government to marginalize the country's 200 million Muslims. The government has defended the law as a humanitarian gesture.
Uttar Pradesh's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath has earlier warned that the government would take revenge from those found involved in rioting.??