The Citizenship Amendment Act (Bill) protests, also known as the CAA Protest, CAB Protest or CAA and NRC protests, occurred after the

Citizenship Amendment Act The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Banglade ...

(CAA) was enacted by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

on 12 December 2019. The move sparked a widespread national and overseas ongoing protests against the act and its associated proposals of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protests first began in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and spread swiftly in other states such as Delhi,

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

, and

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

on 4 December 2019. Protests broke out rapidly across the country, although the concerns of the protesters vary., Quote: "Though the protesters in India share a common opposition to the new citizenship law, their reasons for rejecting the legislation vary." The CAA amends the Indian citizenship act to accept illegal migrants who are

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, Sikh,

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

, Parsi,

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who entered India before 2014, following the

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...

s.Citizenship Amendment Bill: India's new 'anti-Muslim' law explained
BBC News, 11 December 2019. The bill does not mention

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and other communities who fled from the same or other neighbouring countries. Refugees from Sri Lankan Tamils in India, Rohingyas from

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and Tibetan refugees are also not mentioned in the bill. The proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be an official record of all legal citizens of India. Individuals would need to provide a prescribed set of documents before a specified cutoff date to be included in it. The amendment has been widely criticised as discriminating on the basis of religion, particularity for excluding Muslims. Protestors against the amendment demand that it be scrapped and that the nationwide NRC not be implemented. The bill has raised concerns among the Indian Muslim community. 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. The protesters have raised voices against authoritarianism and the police crackdown in universities to suppress protests. Protesters in

and other

northeastern states The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the S ...

do not want

Indian citizenship Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955. All persons born in In ...

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. They are also concerned that it will motivate further migration from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

that could violate the Assam Accord which was a prior agreement reached with the central government on migrants and refugees. The protests started in Assam on 4 December 2019, after the bill was introduced in parliament. Later on, protests erupted in

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

, and subsequently spread to the major cities of India. On 15 December, major protests took place near Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi and

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

. As the protests broke out, mobs burnt and destroyed public as well as private properties and several railway stations were vandalised. Police forcibly entered the campus of Jamia, used batons and

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

on the students, and more than 200 students were injured while around 100 were detained overnight in the police station. The police action was widely criticised and resulted students across the country protesting in solidarity. The protests resulted in thousands of arrests and 27 deaths as of 27 December 2019. Two 17-year-old minors were among those reported to have been killed due to police firing during a live ammunition on protesters in Assam. On 19 December, the police issued a complete ban on protests in several parts of India. As a result of defying the ban, thousands of protesters were detained.

Background

A child taking part in an anti-CAB NRC protest

Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB) was introduced by the Home Minister,

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...

on the floor of the Parliament of India on 9 December 2019 in response to the exclusion of 1.9 million people, predominantly Hindus and Muslims in the National Register of Citizens for Assam. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was passed by the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of ...

on 11 December. It amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to grant a swifter path to Indian citizenship under the assumption of

to any individual belonging to the specific minorities of

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

s, Parsis and Christians from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. The Act also seeks to relax the requirement of residence in India for citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to 5 years for migrants covered under the Act. However, the Act does not mention Muslims and does not offer the same eligibility benefits to Muslim immigrants or immigrants belonging to other religions from those countries. The Act also does not mention any benefits for various other refugees which form the bulk of the refugees living in India, such as Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who faced persecution during the Sri Lankan Civil War, Rohingya refugees who were victims of the

Rohingya genocide The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people by the Burmese military. The genocide has consisted of two phases to date: the first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 ...

, Nepali refugees who faced ethnic cleansing in Bhutan, and Tibetan Buddhist refugees who faced persecution in China. According to the Intelligence Bureau, the immediate beneficiaries of the new law will be 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.

Response

The passage of the Act sparked massive protests in India. Protesters in

and other

oppose the grant of

to any refugee or immigrant, regardless of their religion, because they fear it would alter the region's demographic balance. They have campaigned since the 1970s against all refugees, and they fear that the new law will cause a loss of their political rights, culture and land. They are also concerned that it will trigger more migration from

as well as violate the Assam Accord, which was a prior agreement reached with the central government on migrants and refugees. After the act was passed, protests in the northeastern region turned violent. Authorities had arrested over 3000 protesters as of 17 December 2019, and some news outlets have described these protests as riots. Protesters say that the Act violates Clause 5 and Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord. Critics have stated that the amendment Act is unconstitutional. The major opposition political parties state that it violates Constitution's Article 14, one that guarantees equality to all. They allege that the new law seeks to make Muslims second-class citizens of India, while preferentially treating non-Muslims in India. Critics of the Act have also stated that due to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Muslims could be made stateless, while the Citizenship Amendment Act would be able to shield people with Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian identity as a means of providing them with Indian citizenship even if they fail to prove that they were citizens of India under the stringent requirements of the NRC. Some critics allege that it is a deliberate attempt at disenfranchising and segregating Muslims in line with the ethnonationalist

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

ideology of the ruling

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

(BJP). Tavleen Singh described the Act as India's first Nuremberg Law. The home minister

had previously set a deadline for the implementation of a countrywide NRC by stating that the register would be rolled out before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Act was criticised by various NGOs, students bodies, and liberal, progressive, and socialist organisations across the country, with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

and other major political parties announcing their staunch opposition. Protests led by these groups are concerned that the new law discriminates against Muslims, and believe that Indian citizenship should also be granted to Muslim refugees and immigrants. The states of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

, West Bengal,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

, Maharashtra,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

, Jharkhand and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...

– all ruled by political parties that oppose the BJP – have announced that they will not implement either the National Register of Citizens (NRC) or the Citizenship Amendment Act. The states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

, Andhra Pradesh and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

have however refused to only implement the NRC, while the state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

and the union territories of Delhi and Puducherry have refused to implement the Act while only expressing disapproval of the NRC. The states of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

and

have also put a hold on all activities relating to the preparation and update of the National Population Register which is necessary for the Census as well as the implementation of the National Register of Citizens. Although some of the states have opposed the Act, the Union Home Ministry clarified that states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of CAA. The Ministry stated that "The new legislation has been enacted under the Union List of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. The states have no power to reject it." The

Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. The fir ...

and various other bodies have also petitioned the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

to strike down the Act as illegal and unconstitutional.

Chronology

December 2019

* 4 December :*The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was cleared by the Union Cabinet for introduction in the parliament. :*After the bill was cleared, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

, and other areas in the state. :*In

Dispur Dispur (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Assam and is a suburb at Guwahati. It became the capital in 1973, when Shillong the erstwhile capital, became the capital of the state of Meghalaya that was carved out of Assam. Dispur is t ...

, several thousands of protesters broke down police barricades to protest in front of the

Assam Legislative Assembly The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...

building. :*Demonstrations were held in

Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located ...

. Six people died and fifty people were injured in the protests against the Act. * 9 December :*The bill was introduced in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

by the Minister of Home Affairs,

. * 10 December :*The bill was passed with 311 members voting in favour and 80 against. * 11 December :*The bill was subsequently passed by the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes against it. Those parties that had voted in favour include BJP allies such as the Janata Dal (United) and the AIADMK and non-aligned parties such as the

Biju Janata Dal The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the par ...

. * 12 December :*After receiving assent from the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

, the bill assumed the status of an act. The act would come into force on 10 January, chosen by the Government of India, and would be notified as such. :*Dipanjal Das and Sam Stafford were killed in police firing during a protest in Guwahati. :* Akhil Gogoi was taken in preventive custody. A poster trying to depict the CAA process at Shaheen Bagh protests New Delhi

A poster trying to depict the CAA process at Shaheen Bagh protests New Delhi

* 13 December :* UK, US, France, Israel and Canada issued

travel warning A travel warning, travel alert, or travel advisory is an official warning statement issued by government agencies to provide information about the relative safety of travelling to or visiting one or more specific foreign countries or destinations ...

s for their citizens visiting India's north-east region, where the protests were mainly taking place, asking them to "exercise caution". :*The Chief Ministers of the Indian states of West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had stated that they would not implement the act. * 14 December :*Ishwar Nayak was killed in police firing at a protest in Assam. :*Thousands of people protested against the law at the

Jantar Mantar A Jantar Mantar ( Hindustani pronunciation: ͡ʒən̪t̪ər mən̪t̪ər is an assembly of stone-built astronomical instruments, designed to be used with the naked eye. There were five Jantar Mantars in India, all of them built at the com ...

in New Delhi. * 15 December :*In Assam, Abdul Alim, a protester, died due to police firing in a protest the previous day. :*In Jamia Nagar, Delhi, three Delhi Transport Corporation buses were torched as protests took a violent turn. :*A group of artists in

staged a concert in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. :*Police forcefully entered the campus of Jamia Milia Islamia university and detained students. According to video footage, the police used batons and tear gas on the students. More than two hundred students were injured and around a hundred were detained. The police action was widely criticised, and resulted in protests across the country and abroad. There were also allegations that the police attacked students who were not part of the protests. :*Protests were held outside the campus of the

. In the evening, police officers forcefully entered the campus and attacked students. At least 80 students were injured in the attacks. :*In West Bengal, violent protests occurred and five trains were set on fire by protesters in Lalgola and Krishnapur railway stations in Murshidabad district. * 16 December :*In Lucknow, police prevented around 300 students of Nadwa University from staging a peaceful protest outside the campus; clashes ensued later. Around 15 to 20 students were injured and around 30 students were charged by the police for attempt to murder and violence. :* Priyanka Gandhi led a silent protest at the India Gate along with about three hundred

workers to show solidarity with the students of Jamia Milia Islamia after the previous day's incidents. :*A Satyagraha was organised by the

All Assam Students' Union All Assam Students' Union or AASU is a Assamese nationalist students' organisation in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against Bengalis of both Indian and Bangladeshi origin living in Assam. The leadership, ...

across

, which would continue till 18 December. :*In West Bengal thousands of people joined a demonstration led by Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served many times as a ...

and her ruling

Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress ( English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the c ...

party. :*Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

appealed for calm on Twitter and clarified that CAA was for immigrants. * 17 December :*Violent clashes occurred in Delhi's Seelampur area. Police retaliated with tear gas and batons against the stone throwing protesters. Several protesters and officers were injured. A police station was set on fire and buses were vandalised in the area. :*A dawn-to-dusk hartal (shutdown) was observed in Kerala by the

Welfare Party of India Welfare Party of India is an Indian Political party, Welfare Party of India to contest polls, striving for what it deems "value-based politics" in India. Its first National President was Mujtaba Farooq, and other key leaders were Syed Qasim Ra ...

Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), al ...

Social Democratic Party of India The Social Democratic Party of India, popularly known as SDPI, is an Indian political party which was founded on 21 June 2009 in New Delhi. The party is considered the political wing of the banned Islamic organization Popular Front of India (P ...

and 30 other organisations against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the police violence against students at various universities across the country, in relation to anti-CAA protests. * 18 December :*The

heard 60 petitions challenging the Act and declined to stay implementation of CAA. 22 January 2020 was set as the next date of hearing on the constitutional validity of the act. :*A statement "condemning the recent police action and brutalisation of students at Jamia Millia University and Aligarh Muslim University" was signed by signatories from more than 1,100 academic institutions across the world. * 19 December :*3 protesters (2 in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

and 1 in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

) were killed in police firing. :*Various administrative authorities imposed bans against public gatherings, especially in BJP ruled states such as

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

, Uttar Pradesh and parts of Delhi, where the police comes under the BJP-ruled central government. Access to mobile-based internet was shut down in certain places in Delhi and Bangalore. :*Internet was suspended in certain regions of Uttar Pradesh including the state capital,

where data and text services were restricted till noon of 21 December 2019. Internet services were also suspended in Sambhal, Aligarh, Mau, Ghaziabad, and Azamgarh districts, as well as

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

district in Karnataka. :*Protest meetings were held defying bans in Delhi's

Red Fort The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift ...

and Bengaluru. Tens of thousands of people protested in Hyderabad, Patna, Chandigarh, Mumbai and other cities. Calls were made on social media platforms asking people to turn up and protest peacefully. :*In Delhi, politicians

Yogendra Yadav Yogendra Yadav (born 5 September 1963) is an Indian activist, psephologist and politician whose primary interests are in the political and social sciences. He was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Del ...

and

Sitaram Yechury Sitaram Yechury (born 12 August 1952) is an Indian marxist politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the largest communist party in India. ...

along with around 1,200 protesters were detained by the police. :*In Delhi, at least 700 flights were delayed and more than 20 cancelled due to traffic jams caused by police closing roads to stop protests. :*In Bengaluru, historian

Ramchandra Guha Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social, political, contemporary, environmental and cricket history, and the field of economic ...

along with several other professors were detained by the police. According to the police, around 200 protesters had been detained in Bengaluru. :*Curfew was imposed in

Mangaluru Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

until 20 December, after violent clashes and the death of 2 people due to police firing. The police later allegedly forced its way into the hospital where the 2 victims were brought. :*UNICEF issued a statement asking the government to respect children's right of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and protest as per the Convention on the Rights of the Child. :*In

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

, during a violent clash in the

Shah-e-Alam's Roza Shah-e-Alam's Tomb and Mosque, also known as Rasulabad Dargah or Shah Alam no Rozo, is a medieval mosque and tomb complex (''Roza'') in Shah Alam area of Ahmedabad, India. History Shah e Alam was the son of Syed Burhanuddin Qutub-ul-Alam and t ...

area police used tear gas to defend themselves and counter stone pelting while trying to disperse a crowd of around 2000 protesters. :*90 protesters including 50 students of the

Hyderabad university The University of Hyderabad (IAST: ''Hydarāvād visvavidyālayamu'') is a top ranking public central research university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Founded in 1974, this mostly residential campus has more than 5,000 students a ...

were detained by Hyderabad police. :*A crowd consisting of thousands of protesters gathered at Moulali in central

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

to peacefully protest against CAA and NRC. :*Protests involving 20,000 protesters concluded peacefully at the August Kranti Maidan at Mumbai. * 20 December :* 6 protesters (one each in Meerut, Sambhal,

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations ...

and Firozabad and 2 in

Bijnor Bijnor is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India :* Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad conducted a protest march at the Jama Masjid in Delhi. * 21 December :*Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested along with 27 people and three FIRs were registered for certain violent incidents on 20 December at Delhi Gate and Seemapuri. :* 1100 academics and academia staff from around the world issued a joint statement supporting the act. :*Peaceful protests were conducted in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Delhi. An all-woman protest was organised across Assam. :*A spontaneous protest march, approximately 1.5 km long occurred in Kolkata. :*Clashes were reported during protests near Chennai Central railway station. :*1 protester dies and several are injured in clashes at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh. Access to the internet is still restricted at many places. :*In Patna and other towns of Bihar, supporters of the

Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has tradit ...

(RJD) protested at bus and train stations and blocked roads. :*An 18-year-old protester, Amir Hanzla was beaten to death by Hindu extremists for his role in the protests. * 22 December :*The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot held a protest march termed the " Samvidhan Bachao Rally" which was attended by around 300,000 people. :*The Karnataka government announced an ex-gratia compensation of each to the families of the two men killed in violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Mangaluru on 19 December. However, the compensation was withheld on 26 December, impending an enquiry on the killed men. :*The Uttar Pradesh government created a panel to assess the damage to the property and to recover the losses by seizing the property of the alleged protesters. * 23 December :*Protests involving 80,000 protesters concluded peacefully in Bangalore. :*Dibrugarh police arrested 55 people for involvement in acts of violence in the district during protests against the Amendment. :*Unidentified people assaulted three migrant labourers from West Bengal for allegedly taking part in anti-CAA protests. :*An FIR was registered against AAP MLA

Amanatullah Khan Amanatullah Khan is an Indian politician and is member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and represents Okhla (Assembly constituency) of Delhi in the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. Khan is the ele ...

over charges of "sharing an objectionable post" on the social media against the act. :*31 people were arrested for violence during an anti-CAA protest in

Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Rampur ( ) is a city, and the municipality headquarter of Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was formerly known for its various industries, like sugar refining and cotton milling. Its library has more than 12,000 rare manu ...

. * 24 December :*Despite widespread ongoing protests, the central government approved the updation of the National Population Register (NPR) and allocated for it. :*A German exchange student at IIT Madras was deported by the Indian authorities for participating in the CAA protests. :*Reports of

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

vandalising homes, shops and cars and accusing and arresting protesters of taking part in vandalism emerged from various parts of the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

. :*1,000-1,200 protesters were booked for organising a candle march in

for violating Section 144. * 26 December :*In Sambhal, UP, the government sent notices to 26 people for their alleged involvement in damaging properties during protests and asked them to explain their position or pay for the loss due to damage of property. The losses to the property were assessed to be . * 27 December :*357 people including 75 women protesting against CAA and police atrocities were detained by the Delhi police near the UP Bhavan. * 28 December :* The

, on its foundation day, undertook a flag march in Mumbai and coined the slogan "Save Bharat-Save Constitution". Similar marches were held in many parts of the country. :*In Meerut, U.P. government demanded each from more than 140 people, a total of as penalty for damages caused during protests on 20 December. * 29 December :*The Shaheen Bagh protests, which started on 15 December and were participated in mainly by house wives and old women with their children, gathered mainstream media attention on 29 December. Despite Delhi experiencing the second coldest night in the last 100 years, the women protesters sat on an indefinite protest at Shaheen Bagh, . :*LGBT Rights activists protested against the CAA and NRC at the Kolkata Pride Parade. * 30 December :* Delhi Police arrested street vendors, accusing them of stone pelting and inciting violence during the Jamia Milia Islamia attacks. * 31 December :*Protests were held during New Year's Eve celebrations in Delhi, Hyderabad,

Bhubaneshwar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

, Mumbai and Kolkata.

January 2020

* 1 January :* About 50,000–170,000 people participated in an anti-CAA rally organised by Muslim organisations in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

. The numbers swelled to 500,000, the unusually large size of the protest causing a complete standstill of traffic throughout the city. * 3 January :* The UP Police admitted that it had wrongfully accused and arrested poor innocent people; and releases four minors from jail due to lack of evidence. * 4 January :*More than 100,000 protesters attended a protest march named "Million March" against the Citizenship Amendment Bill held in Hyderabad. :*In Bangalore hundreds of protesters participated in a rally and accused the

Modi government The premiership of Narendra Modi began on 26 May 2014 with his swearing-in as the prime minister of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He became the 14th Prime Minister of India, succeeding Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress. Modi's f ...

of attempting to divide India on the basis of religion, and distracting people from the issues of economic slowdown and unemployment in the country. * 5 January :*A masked mob, allegedly composed of Hindu extremists from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, armed with rods and sticks attacked the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and injured more than 40 students and teachers. The attack was described as an attempt to suppress

student activism Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

during the Citizenship Amendment Act protests. * 6 January :*50,000 women held an "all women's rally" in Malegaon, Maharashtra. * 7 January :*Women in Kolkata started a sit-in protest at the grounds of Park Circus in Kolkata. * 8 January :*PM Modi cancelled his visit to Assam, while the CAA protests continue. AASU had planned huge protests during Modi's visit. :*Thousands of people joined the anti-CAA protests at Dibrugarh, Guwahati and other parts of Assam. * 9 January :*Students of JNU attempted to march towards

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati B ...

, the official residence of the

while blocking Janpath. Police detained around 100 students when the march was blocking Janpath. :*The Chief Justice of India dismissed a petition by a lawyer demanding that the CAA be declared constitutionally valid, stating that "There is anyway a presumption of constitutionality". :* Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) along with All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and 30 other organisations and artist communities organised protests against CAA in

. They demanded "corruption-free, foreigner-free, terrorism-free and pollution-free Assam" from the Chief Minister of Assam,

Sarbananda Sonowal Sarbananda Sonowal ( Assamese: সৰ্বানন্দ সোণোৱাল / IPA: xɔɹbanɔndɔ xʊnʊwal; born 31 October 1962) is an Indian politician from Assam who is the current Cabinet Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and ...

rather than implementing CAA-NRC. * 10 January :*The Citizenship Amendment Act came into force. :*The

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...

dismissed a plea to remove the protesters occupying Shaheen Bagh. * 11 January :*PM Modi visited Kolkata on a two day official visit. Hundreds of people protested against CAA at the Kolkata airport. :*Several parties and student unions launched a protest at the Dorina Crossing at Esplanade in Kolkata. SFI leader stated that the protests would continue till Sunday, until PM Modi (who had been visiting the city) was in Kolkata. :*A " Tiranga Rally" against the CAA was held in Hyderabad, with thousands of people displaying the national flag. Police officers were seen caning peaceful protesters. :* Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, the royal scion of the

Manikya dynasty The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north ...

, led the largest protest in Tripura as of 11 January 2020 consisting of thousands of people. Debbarma stated that beneficiaries of CAA will not be allowed to settle in Tripura. He added that the state has already accommodated many migrants from

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

and further immigration due to CAA will endanger the threatened indigenous residents of Tripura. * 12 January :*In Kolkata, the protesters outside the venue of PM Modi's speech were detained by the police. :*Thousands of people join the anti CAA protests at Jogeshwari in Mumbai. Slogans such as "I Am From Gujarat, My Documents Burned in 2002", "No CAA, Boycott NRC, Stop Dividing India, Don't Divide us", "Save Constitution", were displayed on the banners. :*The Indian National Congress demanded the withdrawal of CAA, and stopping of the process to update NPR. It claimed that the NPR was a 'disguised NRC'. * 13 January :*The Parliamentary panel on Home Affairs criticised the Delhi Police for the violent crackdown on Jamia and JNU and asked them not to be harsh. :*A meeting of 20 opposition parties in Delhi released a statement demanding a revocation of the CAA and asked all the Chief Ministers who have refused to implement the NRC in their states to stop the work of updating the National Population Register, as it is the foundation of NRC. :*At Jamia Millia Islamia, several student groups protested outside the office of Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar asking to reschedule the exam dates, filing a case against Delhi Police and ensuring the safety of students. The VC announced in the afternoon, that a case will be filed against police on 14 January. * 14 January :*The

Kerala government Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decisio ...

approached the Supreme Court to challenge the CAA under Section 131 of the Constitution and became the first state to do so. :* Mani Shankar Aiyar of the Indian National Congress joined the anti CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh. :*5000 women staged a sit-in protest at Mansoor Ali park in

Prayagraj Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admini ...

, Uttar Pradesh. :*In Mumbai, a group of students attended the India v/s Australia match at Wankhede stadium and peacefully protested by wearing T-shirts with the message "No NPR, NO NRC and NO CAA". :*In Gujarat, people celebrated

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

by flying kites with slogans for and against CAA. * 15 January :*More than 200,000 people joined the Anti-CAA protests in Mangalore, where hundreds of people came in boats carrying Indian flags. Activists Harsh Mander and former

IAS officer The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

Kannan Gopinathan gave speeches during the protests. The protests ended peacefully with the singing of National anthem. :*Women conducted sit-in protests at Patna's Sabzibagh and Kolkata's

Park Circus Park Circus is a neighbourhood of Central-South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. Geography Police district Karaya police station is in the South-east division of Kolkata Police. Karaya Women police station, at the same a ...

, Allahabad's Roshan Bagh, Kanpur's Chaman Ganj, Gaya's Shanti Bagh along with Delhi's Shaheen Bagh. :*A petition was filed in Gujarat High court asking its intervention to allow citizens to hold Anti-CAA protests in Ahmedabad. The petitioners stated that the Gujarat Police did not grant them permission for peaceful protests but granted permission to 62 programmes held by the ruling BJP to support the CAA. The court asked the police to decide properly on the protesters' applications. :*A Delhi court granted bail and released Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad aka "Raavan", who had been arrested for his protest in December against CAA at

Jama Masjid, Delhi The Masjid-i-Jehan-Numa (), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is one of the largest mosques in India. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656, and inaugurated by its first Imam, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah ...

. :*Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) postpones all exams due to the ongoing CAA protests. * 16 January :*Police in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

banned all protests in the city for a period of 15 days. Five women and one man (including a physically disabled person) were detained by the police for protesting against CAA. * 17 January :* Inspired by the Shaheen Bagh protest, a massive anti-CAA-NRC-NPR protest was started in Mumbai. Around 10,000 women gathered at the YMCA ground in Mumbai to protest in the evening. The protest was organised by a Non-governmental organisation named Mumbai Citizen Quorum. :*Around 500 women began a sit-in protest at the Clock tower grounds in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. * 18 January :*Uttar Pradesh police cracked down on the CAA protesters demonstrating near the Clock Tower in

and snatched their personal belongings. * 19 January :*In Delhi, hundreds of protesters joined a protest march holding lighted candles from Jamia University to Shaheen Bagh. :*In

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, Germany more than 200 people join the protest march against CAA, NRC and the JNU attack. The march was led by the Indian diaspora and started at the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II of Prussia, Frederick William II after Prussian invasion ...

and ended at the Indian Embassy. :*An all women protest started on 11 January, outside Konark Mall in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, organised by Kul Jamaat-e-Tanzeem, an umbrella body of several organisations, reached its ninth day with around 500–600 protesters participating all throughout the day. * 20 January :*Several Labour Party MPs of the

Uk parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

discussed concerns regarding the CAA, in a meeting organised by South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG) and Ambedkar International Mission (UK) in London. The MPs expressed concern on its implications on human rights and disenfranchisement of the Muslim community. * 21 January :*More than 300,000 people join an anti-CAA protest rally at Kalaburagi in Karnataka. :*In UP's Etawah, a video emerged that showed Police chasing and attacking the women protesters with batons in their attempts to break the protest. :*In a unique way of protesting, more than a hundred women protesters at Khureji Khas in Delhi released 10,000 gas filled black coloured balloons with the message "No CAA NPR NRC". :*Police register cases against 160 women for violation of the ban on assembly and protesting against CAA in Lucknow. :*Despite ban on assembly, Home Minister Amit Shah was allowed by the administration to address a pro CAA public rally at Lucknow. Amit Shah said that the protesters could continue protesting but the government would not revoke the CAA. :*Various college students' associations had called a complete shutdown of colleges and universities in the north-east on 22 Jan, asking the Supreme Court to declare CAA as unconstitutional. * 22 January :*Thousands of students from 9 universities in North-East India boycott classes and join protest march in the states of

, Nagaland,

and

. :*A 5 kilometre long procession against CAA was led by CM

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nep ...

, West Bengal. :*Women continued sit-in protests for the third day at the Haj House near Kadru Over Bridge in

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area o ...

, Jharkhand. :*144 CAA related petitions scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court of India were brought up.

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

Sharad A. Bobde had led the three-judge bench. The court gave notice to the government on the petitions and allowed one month to respond in the next hearing in February. The Supreme Court also segregated the case of Assam and Tripura considering the fact of cross-border infiltration and assured of looking into the matter separately. :*A fact-finding team consisting of students of various prominent universities like Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU released a report after visiting 15 violence-affected cities in Uttar Pradesh and accused the Uttar Pradesh police of brutality in dealing with protesters and attacking Muslims. The police was accused of violating basic principles of fire arms usage by firing above the waist. :*While addressing a Pro-CAA public meeting in Lucknow the CM of UP threatened to charge the protesters with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, esta ...

if they raised slogans demanding ''Azadi'' (Freedom) in Uttar Pradesh. * 24 January :*A statewide shutdown, "Maharashtra Bandh" was organised by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) across

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

state, to protest against the CAA and the economic policies of the BJP-led central government, which according to the organisers "were ruining the country". :*Curfew was imposed in Jharkhand's Lohardaga district after a clash and violence between pro and anti CAA protesters. * 25 January :*In London, around 2000 people from the Indian diaspora and the Human Rights organisation conducted a protest march against CAA from the Downing Street to the Indian High Commission. :*More than a thousand women staged a sit-in protest at Frazer Town in Bangalore for 48 hours. * 26 January :*More than 300 eminent personalities in India including actor

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare ...

, Javed Jaffrey, and film-maker Mira Nair signed and issued an open statement against the CAA. :*On the occasion of Republic Day, protests were held in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chicago, and London. :*6-7 million people participated in a human chain extending from

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala an ...

Kaliyikkavila Kaliakkavilai is a town panchayat in Kanyakumari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, close to the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border. It lies on the Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari National highway 47. Demogra ...

organised by the LDF in Kerala. * 30 January :*A juvenile

Hindu fundamentalist Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

opened fire at a protest at the Jamia Milia Islamia, injuring one student. The event happened on the 72nd anniversary of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, also by a Hindu fundamentalist. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The man shouted slogans of "''

Jai Shri Ram ''Jai Shri Ram'' (IAST: ) is an expression in Indic languages, translating as "Glory to Lord Rama" or "Victory to Lord Rama". The proclamation has been used by Hindus as an informal greeting, as a symbol of adhering to Hindu faith, or for proj ...

''" (Victory to Lord Rama) and "''Delhi Police Zindabad''" (Long live Delhi police). :*Bihar Police detained CPI leader

Kanhaiya Kumar Kanhaiya Kumar is an Indian political activist who served as the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union and leader of the All India Students Federation (AISF). He served as National Executive Council member of Communist ...

before he could start his planned month-long "Jan-Gana-Man Yatra" which was organised at Champaran on

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's death anniversary. :*Seven protesters who were protesting at the Ghantaghar (Clock Tower) in Lucknow. They were arrested for taking out a candle march, which UP Police said was a violation of section 144 of the CrPC which was imposed in the area. * 31 January :*Leaders from 14 opposition parties, led by the Indian National Congress, wore black armbands and vacated the front row seats to protest against the new law, the NRC and the NPR during President

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

's address to the Joint Session of the Parliament of India for 2020 budget session. The Leader of the Opposition in the

, Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the Union Government misused the President's office and it was "shameful" that the government had included the CAA in the President's speech as an achievement.

February 2020

* 1 February :* After the JMI firing incident on 30 January, another Hindu fundamentalist fired bullets in the air during the Shaheen Bagh protests. The man chanted the slogans "''Hindu Rashtra Zindabad''" (Long live the Hindu Rashtra) and "''Sirf Hinduo ki chalegi''" (Only Hindus will rule in this country). :*

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

informed US lawmakers that the CAA clearly violates the Constitution of India and

International human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, a ...

and "legitimises discrimination" on the basis of religion. :*Thousands of LGBT rights activists protest raised slogans against the CAA at the Queer Azaadi Pride Parade in Mumbai. * 6 February :* In Bidar, a mother and a school principal were arrested after the mother's daughter participated in a play against the CAA. * 7 February :* The Bidar police interrogated 85 school-children studying in classes 4–6 for participating in an anti-CAA play. :* Ahead of the

2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Delhi on 8 February 2020 to elect 70 members of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Voters turnout was recorded at 62.82%, a decline of 4.65% from the previous assembly election in Delhi but 2.2% more t ...

, two bike-borne men allegedly opened fired in the air near an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest site in Northeast Delhi's Jafrabad. The police, however, suspected personal enmity. * 8 February :* A Muslim BJP councillor in

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

resigned from the party, accusing it of spreading "politics of hatred". * 11 February :* Jamia Milia Islamia students staged a march to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

against the CAA and NRC. The march was stopped by the Delhi police who detained protesters. The police allegedly sexually assaulted the protesters. * 16 February :* Imran Pratapgarhi, an Indian National Congress politician was fined for violating Section 144 by addressing protestors, participating in an anti-CAA protest in

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and ...

, Uttar Pradesh, and allegedly instigating protesters at the Idgah ground. * 17 February :*Over 150 prominent citizens including former judges, bureaucrats, army officers and academicians wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, claiming that the anti-CAA protests were based on a false narrative, and urged the centre to look into the ongoing protests with all seriousness, safeguard the nation's democratic institutions and take stern action against the people behind them. :* Magsaysay Award recipient

Sandeep Pandey Sandeep Pandey (born 22 July 1965) is an Indian social activist and the present General Secretary of the Socialist Party (India). He co-founded Asha for Education with Dr. Deepak Gupta (presently Professor at IIT Kanpur) and V.J.P Srivastava ...

was arrested by the Lucknow police for attempting to protest. He was released on bail after being produced in the District Magistrate's court. * 18 February :* The Uttar Pradesh government informed the

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...

that 22 had been killed in the protests and a total of 883 people had been arrested in connection with violence during the protests. * 19 February :* Secretary-General of the United Nations

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...

expressed concerns over the possibility of millions being rendered stateless due to the CAA and NRC. :* In

, a confederation of Muslim groups led a massive rally towards the Secretariat of Tamil Nadu in a demonstration against the CAA. It came a day after the Madras High Court denied permission to protesters to protest near the state assembly and press for passage of a resolution against CAA, NRC and NPR. * 20 February :*

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telanga ...

leader and spokesperson Waris Pathan stoked controversy at a rally in Karnataka's

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka (Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is ...

district by stating "To those saying we have only put our women at the forefront – only the lionesses are out and you're already sweating. Imagine what would happen if we all came together. We are 15 crore, but that can outweigh 100 crore, remember that." The politician withdrew his statement on 23 February, saying that he had no intentions of hurting the sentiments of any community, after criticism from both the ruling and opposition parties. * 22 February :* About 200 Women gathered near the Jaffrabad Metro Station in Delhi at night protesting against the CAA and NRC. :* Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to ...

decided to not pass a resolution against the CAA, making

the first UPA-ruled state to decide not to pass a resolution. * 23 February :* The protest in the Jaffrabad Metro Station continued for the second day. Around 500 people mostly women gathered around the metro station that leads to closing the entry and exit from the metro station. * 24 February Delhi Riot 2020

:* One policeman and four protestors were killed and several shops and vehicles were burnt during a violent protest in Delhi. :* 13 people were killed in the

North East Delhi riots The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and caused chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people kille ...

. * 25 February :* A shoot-at-sight order was issued in the evening by

Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. In 2015, sanctioned strength of Delhi ...

after the Anti-CAA and Pro-CAA protests became violent. :* The Central Board of Secondary Education postponed board examinations for classes 10 and 12 in northeast Delhi, in view of ongoing riots in the area. However, exams for the rest of Delhi and India would be conducted as per schedule. * 26 February :* The

in an emergency late-night hearing, asked the police to ensure safe passage for those injured in the

to the hospitals. :* The Delhi High Court asked the police to file First information reports against various politicians who were involved in making inflammatory speeches, provoking rioters in North East Delhi. * 27 February :* One day after Delhi High Court judge S. Muralidhar directed Delhi police to file an FIR against those who had made inflammatory speeches, the

ordered his transfer with the recommendation of

March 2020

* 3 March :* The UN High Commissioner filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court to be made a party in the case.

Resolutions

So far, at least eight states have announced that they will not implement the Act or the National Register of Citizens (NRC). While one state and two Union Territories have refused to implement the CAA, three other states have only declined the implementation of the NRC. However, the Union Home Ministry said that states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act.

Resolutions against CAA

* A resolution to scrap the CAA was moved by Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. It was eventually passed by an absolute majority, with only the lone BJP MLA voting against it. * The

Pattali Makkal Katchi Paattali Makkal Katchi (; PMK) is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyars, a caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is currently part of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It contests ...

, a member of the BJP-led

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a centre-right to right-wing and conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of In ...

passed a resolution against the NRC. It had urged the Central Government and the State

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature ...

not to extend the NRC in the state citing that it would create tension and fear in the society. * The

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, di ...

, that has the Indian National Congress in the majority, passed a resolution against the Act and urged the Modi Government to avoid discrimination on the basis of religion through the new Act. The resolution was moved by Punjab minister for parliamentary affairs Brahm Mohindra of the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and was supported by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Lok Insaaf Party. * The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly that has the Indian National Congress in the majority, passed a resolution asking the Central government to repeal the CAA, making Rajasthan the third state to do so after Kerala and Punjab. * A resolution to repeal the CAA was moved in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly by the

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...

headed by the Chief Minister,

and eventually got passed on 27 January 2020, becoming the fourth state assembly to do so. The West Bengal Assembly had also previously passed a resolution against the NRC in September 2019 and the first state assembly to pass a resolution against the proposed NRC. * A five-page resolution against the CAA was drafted by 154 members of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

, who stated that it "marks a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India and is set to create the largest statelessness crisis in the world and cause immense human suffering". * The

Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha or the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Madhya Pradesh state in India. The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Bhopal, the capital of the state. It is housed in the ''Vi ...

passed a resolution against the CAA, becoming the fifth state to do so, after Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab. * The

Bihar Legislative Assembly The Bihar Legislative Assembly, also known as the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, is the lower house of the Bihar Legislature where the first elections were held in 1952. The total strength of membership in the Assembly was 331, including one nominated ...

on 25 February 2020 unanimously passed a resolution not to implement the NRC in the State. It also said the NPR would be implemented in Bihar in the old 2010 format. * The National Assembly of Pakistan passed a resolution labelling the Act as a "discriminatory law" and argued that it contravened "bilateral agreements and understandings between India and Pakistan, particularly those on security and rights of minorities in the respective countries". * On 12 February 2020, Puducherry Legislative Assembly passed a resolution against the amended Citizenship Act, becoming the first union territory in the country to say no to the new law. The resolution passed by the Congress-led government in Puducherry also opposed the NRC and the NPR. * The

Gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

of Islak, of

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...

, Maharastra passed a resolution in January 2020 against the CAA, the NRC and the NPR, becoming the first Indian Gram Panchayat to do so. After Islak, Ghatnandur of

Ambajogai Ambajogai, (also called Ambejogai or Ambanagari) is a municipal council, Tehsil and subdivision in Beed district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Ambajogai is known as cultural capital of Marathwada. The town is named as Ambajogai after ...

, Maharastra, Loutolim of Goa and the panchayat of Patrud village of

Beed Beed (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is a city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in India. It is the administrative headquarters in Beed district. History Beed is a historical city of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is ob ...

, Maharastra have passed a resolutions against the CAA. * On 13 March 2020, The

Delhi Legislative Assembly The Delhi Legislative Assembly, also known as the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consist ...

passed a resolution against the CAA, becoming the second union territory to do so, after Puducherry. * The Telangana Assembly has passed a resolution opposing the CAA, the NPR and the NRC moved by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi headed by the Chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. It has emerged as the 7th state to take decisions against the CAA, NPR and NCR. The resolution stated the Act as unconstitutional and urged the Union Government to remove all references to religion and any particular country. * Several US cities and counties — Seattle, Albany, St. Paul, Hamtramck, Cambridge, San Francisco, Riverdale and Alameda County — have passed resolutions against the CAA and NRC. * On 13 July 2020, New Westminster in the province of British Columbia, Canada passed a resolution against CAA and urged the Canadian government to "take a position in opposition." * The Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) at Kalady in

become the first university in the country to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act by its syndicate in January 2020. This was followed by Calicut University in the same month.

Protests

After the bill was approved on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in

, and other areas in the state. Reactionary protests were held as well in several metropolitan cities across India, including Delhi,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known a ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. Reactionary protests were also held at universities across the country including

Cotton University Cotton University (formerly known as ''Cotton College'') is a public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established in 2017 by the provisions of an Act from the Assam Legislative Assembly which merged Cotton College St ...

Gauhati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It is the oldest ...

, IIT Bombay,

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

, Presidency University, Kolkata, Jamia Millia Islamia,

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. ...

, University of Hyderabad,

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE ...

, Panjab University and

. By 16 December, the protests had spread across India with demonstrations occurring in at least 17 cities including

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

and Puducherry. Between 16 and 18 December, a statement of solidarity "condemning the recent police action and brutalization of students at Jamia Millia University and Aligarh Muslim University" had acquired 10,293 signatories from over 1,100 universities, colleges and academic institutions across the world. Scholars from major academic institutions in India, including JNU,

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

, all the

Indian Institutes of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are central government owned public technical institutes located across India. They are under the ownership of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. They are governed by the Inst ...

, the

Indian Statistical Institute Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta C ...

, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, among many others had signed the solidarity statement. On 16 December, professors and students of IIM-Ahmedabad were detained by police citing demonstrating protest against the Act is illegal. On 19 December police banned protests in several parts of India with the imposition of Section 144 which prohibits the gathering of more than 4 individuals in a public space as being unlawful, namely, parts of the capital

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

, Uttar Pradesh, and

, including Bangalore. As Section 144 was imposed, the students of IIM-Bangalore demonstrate their protest peacefully by laying shoes and placards in front of the institute gate, which they called the Shoe Satyagraha. Following IIM-Ahmedabad and Bangalore, IIM-Calcutta raised their voice peacefully in solidarity against the Act and the brutal misconduct by police against the students who were protesting all over the country. Several institutes in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...

including IIM-Kozhikode, NIT-Calicut, Government Medical College, Kozhikode and Farook College expressed their protest from 19 to 20 December. Police in

denied permission for marches, rallies or any other demonstration. Internet services were also shutdown in some parts of Delhi. As a result of defying the ban, thousands of protesters were detained, primarily in Delhi, including several opposition leaders and activists such as

Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social history, social, political history, political, contemporary history, contemporary, Envir ...

Umar Khalid Umar Khalid (born Syed Umar Khalid) is an Indian student activist, former research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, former leader of Democratic Students' Union (DSU) in JNU. He was allegedly involved in the Jawaharlal Nehru University ...

Sandeep Dikshit Sandeep Dikshit (born 15 August 1964) is an Indian politician, development manager and educator. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the East Delhi const ...

, and D Raja. Despite the fear of being detained, tens of thousands of people protested in Hyderabad, Patna, Chandigarh, Mumbai and other cities. Civil society groups, political parties, students, activists and ordinary citizens used social medial platforms to ask people to turn up and protest peacefully. The protests involving 20,000 protesters concluded peacefully at the August Kranti Maidan at Mumbai. More than 300 eminent personalities in India signed and issued an open statement against the CAA. The signatories including actor

, Ratna Patak Shah, Jaaved Jafferi, Nandita Das, Lillete Dubey film-maker Mira Nair, writers Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, actors, sociologist Ashis Nandy, activists Sohail Hashmi and Shabnam Hashmi among others.

Assam

Students of

began protesting against the CAA a few days before the controversial bill was produced on the floor of the

. On 29 November, the students staged a silent protest outside the university campus. After the bill was cleared on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in

, and other areas in the state. ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

'' reported that the protests in the state were violent, adding that at least two people were killed till 16 December. Buildings and railway stations were set on fire. The CAA made 2014 as the cut-off date to determine illegal foreigners but according to people opposing the act, Assam bore the brunt of immigrants from 1951 to 1971, while other states did not. The protesters were angry that the new law would allow thousands of

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

speaking non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh to become legal citizens of India, thereby influencing the political and cultural environment of Assam. Thousands of members and workers of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and 30 other indigenous organisations, artists, cultural activists of the state gathered at Latasil ground in Dispur to stage a satyagraha against the Act on 16, 17 and 18 December. Assam Police subsequently detained the general secretary and the adviser to the AASU and over 2,000 protesters in Guwahati during a protest rally on 18 December. On 12 December, security personnel, including CRPF jawans with batons and shields barged into the office of a private TV channel of Assam, ''

Prag News Prag News also known as Prag is a 24×7 Assamese news channel. It is the oldest local news channel of Assam owned by A M Television Pvt. Ltd., based in Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian ...

'' in Guwahati and attacked its staffers with batons during protests. On 20 December,

Assamese language Assamese (), also Asamiya ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language, and it serves as a '' lingua franca'' of the wider region. The easternmost Indo-Iranian langua ...

newspapers reported violent incidents occurring during the protests across the state. Use of excessive force by the police was also reported. In Dibrugarh, the All Assam Students Union members vandalised the district office of the

Asom Gana Parishad Asom Gana Parishad ( translation: ''Assam People's Council'', AGP) is a state political party in Assam, India. The AGP was formed after the historic Assam Accord of 1985 and formally launched at the Golaghat Convention held from 13–14 Oct ...

, which had voted in favour of the act as part of the ruling Coalition. Peasant leader Akhil Gogoi was arrested in

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

on 12 December as a preventive measure by authorities to prevent him from organising any protests. A special court of

National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...

(NIA) in Guwahati on Tuesday charged him under

for "

maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

links" and sent him to 10-day NIA custody. The Assam Human rights Commission decided to take suo moto cognizance of reports of alleged torture upon Akhil Gogoi. According to the

Assam Government The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

, people have been arrested by the Assam Police for their alleged involvement in the violent incidents during the anti-CAA protests across the state, as of 17 December. In

, several thousands of protesters broke down police barricades to protest in front of the

building. Demonstrations were also held in

. On 15 December 2019, a concert was staged by artistes of Assam as a protest against the CAA. The concert was themed as 'No CAA, Concert for peace and harmony'. Along with music, paintings were also demonstrated in the event. Access to the internet was restricted in Assam by the administrative authorities. A curfew was also declared in Assam and

due to the protests, leading to army deployment as protesters defied the curfews. Railway services were suspended and some airlines started to waive rescheduling or cancellation fees in those areas. Officials reported that at least four people died after clashes with police in

. Two men, Dipanjal Das and Sam Stafford, died due to police firing on 12 December. On 15 December,

Gauhati Medical College and Hospital The Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, the second medical college to be established in Assam, is also a health care institution. It provides medical education at undergraduate, postgraduate and superspecialty levels. History Dr. John Ber ...

official stated that Ishwar Nayak died on the night of 14 December and Abdul Alim died on 15 December morning. Both of them had been admitted to the hospital after suffering gunshot wounds. As of 15 December, it was reported that at least 6 people had died due to police firing during the protests. After ten days of restriction, mobile internet services in the state were restored from 20 December, although the Gauhati High Court had ordered the government of Assam to restore the service by 5 pm on 19 December. By 22 December, the number of arrested people rose to 393, with 28 cases being registered for making offensive and provocative posts on social media. On 21 December, an all-woman protest was organised across the state. Senior citizens across the state protested on 23 December. Chowkidinghee playground in Dibrugarh saw one of the largest mass gatherings of CAA protests in Assam organised by All Assam Students' Union on 24 December. On 8 January, PM Modi cancelled his visit to Assam while the protests continued in the state. AASU had planned huge protests during Modi's visit. Thousands of people joined the anti-CAA protests at Dibrugarh, Guwahati and other parts of Assam. The protesters dressed up in traditional dress of the region and sang devotional songs during the protest. The protesters also demanded the release of Akhil Gogoi and called the

a dictatorship. On 9 January, musical protests were planned at Gauhati Club in Assam by AASU, along with 30 other organisations and artist communities. On 22 January, thousands of students from 9 universities in North East India boycotted classes and joined a protest march in the states of Assam,

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, Meghalaya and

Tripura

Several protests marches with thousands of protesters were held in Tripura. On 12 December ''BBC'' reported that the army had been deployed in the state and around 1800 people were arrested. Around 200 protesters were detained by police during a protest in the capital city of

. On 11 December, Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, the royal scion, led the largest protest in Tripura so far consisting of thousands of people. Debbarma stated that beneficiaries of CAA would not be allowed to settle in Tripura. He added that the state has already accommodated many migrants from

and further immigration due to CAA would endanger the threatened indigenous residents of the state. The Act also ignited old conflicts between the Bengalis and the Reang refugees. Fresh clashes were reported in the northern district of Kanchanpur between the two communities. The Reang refugees were protesting against the CAA while the Hindu Bengalis were supporting it. Protesters reportedly threw stones and vandalised shops and a marketplace.

Crackdown on Universities

Jamia Millia Islamia

On 13 December 2019, the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University undertook a march to the Parliament protesting against the CAA. They were prevented from going ahead by the police who used batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters leading to clashes with them. Fifty students were detained by the police after the clash. According to the students, police attacked the peaceful protesters with stones and sticks, and several students were injured. The students then retaliated, and clashes ensued. Police denied the allegations, also claiming that the protesters attacked the policemen with stones after they were stopped from marching onwards. Police then used tear gas to disperse them. On the morning of 15 December 2019, more than two thousand students of Jamia joined the protests against CAA in Delhi. Jamia Millia Student Body and Jamia Millia Islamia Teacher's Association (JTA) condemned the violence that happened on the same day in Delhi and stated that no student or teacher was involved in the violence. At 6:46 pm on 15 December 2019, hundreds of police officers forcefully entered the campus of Jamia, without the permission of college authority. The police used batons and tear gas on the protesting students. Nearly a hundred students were detained by the Delhi police and released at 3:30 am next morning. The visuals of students being dragged and

assaulted An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...

by the police was telecast by news channels. Students from all across Delhi joined the agitation. About two hundred people were injured and were admitted to AIIMS and the Holy Family Hospital. Anti CAA Banner

On 16 December 2019, two students of Jamia were admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital with bullet injuries received during the protests on 15 December. One of the victims, M. Tamin stated that he was not participating in the protest and was passing through the area on a motorcycle, when police suddenly started caning the protesters and he was shot in the leg by police from point blank range. According to the doctors treating him, the wounds were from a gunshot. The police stated that they were investigating the allegations of gunshot. The vice-chancellor stated that they will file a court case against the police, demanding an investigation on how police entered the university premises and assaulted the students. On 15 December, Delhi Police attacked students of Jamia Millia Islamia including Shaheen Abdullah, Chanda Yadav, Ladeeda Farzana and Aysha Renna at New Friends Colony. The university was shut until 5 January 2020 and the residents were asked to leave the campus. ;Response The police violence was heavily criticised by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actor John Cusack and Rajkummar Rao condemned the police violence, with Cusack referring it to

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...

and Kashyap calling the government to be "clearly fascist". Actor Swara Bhaskar, praised the students protests for raising their voice against communalism and called the police action as dictatorial, brutal, shocking and shameful. She also questioned if it was the police and not the protesters who vandalised the property in Delhi and Aligarh. Amnesty International India criticised the police for the violence against the students of Jamia and Aligarh University and stated that the allegations of police brutality and sexual harassment against the students should be investigated and culprits be punished. Defending the right of the students to protest, its director stated that the arrest of protesters violate India's obligations under the Article 19 and Article 21 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, fre ...

(ICCPR), to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. No to police brutality no caa no nrc graffiti on metro wall shaheen bagh protests 8 jan 2020

No to police brutality no caa no nrc graffiti on metro wall shaheen bagh protests 8 jan 2020

In response to the police crackdown in Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University, protests were also joined by the students of the educational institutions of

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

, IIT Madras, Jadavpur University,

Tata Institute of Social Sciences Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a multi-campus public research university in Mumbai, India. It is Asia's oldest institute for professional social work education and was founded in 1936 in then Bombay Presidency of British Ind ...

IISc The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

, Pondicherry University, IIM Ahmedabad, as well as organisations such as Pinjra Tod and the

Students' Federation of India The Students' Federation of India (abbreviated as SFI) is an Indian left-wing student organisation politically aligned to the ideologies of Independence, Democracy and Socialism. Currently, V. P. Sanu and Mayukh Biswas are elected as the All ...

. The students of Jadavpur University, West Bengal, called a protest gathering on 16 December, to "condemn the brutal

state terror State terrorism refers to acts of terrorism which a state conducts against another state or against its own citizens.Martin, 2006: p. 111. Definition There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper de ...

on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University". At the event of IIT Kanpur, communal slogans were also raised by the protesters. Standing in solidarity with AMU JNU Jamia Shaheen Bagh anti CAA NRC police brutality protests New Delhi 8 Jan 2020

Standing in solidarity with AMU JNU Jamia Shaheen Bagh anti CAA NRC police brutality protests New Delhi 8 Jan 2020

;Aftermath On 17 December, police arrested ten people (some of them having criminal history) in the case of the violent clashes in Jamia. None of the arrested were students of Jamia. On 13 January, several student groups protested outside the office of Vice-Chancellor asking to reschedule the exam dates, filing a case against Delhi Police and ensuring the safety of students. The VC announced in the afternoon, that a case will be filed against police on 14 January. On 15 January, the VC met Delhi police commissioner to discuss the violence and urged him to file an FIR. The Registrar of JMI filed a petition in a Delhi court for filing FIR on the violence at JMI. The court directed Delhi Police to submit by 16 March, a report on the actions taken on JMI administration's complaint.

Aligarh Muslim University

On 15 December, protests against CAA were held outside the campus of the

. On the evening of 15 December, police officers forcefully entered the campus of the university and assaulted the students. At least 60 students were injured including the president of the students Union. The access to the internet was restricted in the area by the district administration. The university was closed from 15 December till 5 January 2020. A report by three activist-lawyers alleged that the police had resorted to "deceptive shelling", firing explosives camouflaged as tear gas shells during the crackdown. On the evening of 17 December, police released 26 people (including 8 students) on personal bonds. They had been arrested on charges of violence. On 19 December, People's Union for Democratic Rights' fact-finding team consisting of activists

, Harsh Mander and

Kavita Krishnan Kavita Krishnan is a women's rights activist who has publicised the problem of violence against women following the 2012 Delhi gang rape of Nirbhaya. Krishnan was also a politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Li ...

released a report on police crackdown at the Aligarh Muslim University. The report alleged that the police had called the students as terrorists and had used religiously charged slogans such as "''

''". The report also accused the police of breaking the protocols of the campus. It added that no bullet injury was reported. The report was prepared after visiting the campus, based on the video and audio clips of the incident, statements of the injured students and witnesses. After a lull of four days, on 20 December, AMU campus again witnessed protests on Saturday with hundreds of AMU non-teaching staff joining hands with AMU teachers' association, protesting against the CAA and "police atrocities" against the agitators in various parts of the state. On 24 December 1000 – 1200 protesters were booked after organising a candle march inside

for violating section 144. On 15 January, Aligarh Muslim University postponed all exams due to the ongoing CAA protests. ;Aftermath At 7 am on 16 January, Vice-Chancellor met the protesting students and expressed regret for calling police inside the AMU campus to handle the law and order situation inside campus. He defended his decision stating he had not thought that the police would enter the hostels. AMU had set up a fact-finding committee headed by Justice (retd.) V.K. Gupta for a detailed investigation of the events that occurred in the night of 15 December. The VC asked to students to cooperate with the fact-finding committee and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team that was visiting the campus.

Nadwa College

On 16 December, around 300 students of Nadwa college, in Lucknow had planned a peaceful protest march against CAA and in solidarity with the students of AMU. The police prevented students from holding the march and forced them to return into the campus premises. The police locked the gates of the campus from outside and guarded it with a heavy deployment of police to prevent the students from coming out of the campus and undertaking the planned march. A clash between the police and the students locked inside the campus ensued and involved stone pelting from both sides. The police officers were seen hitting the students with sticks as in the video footage of the incident telecast on news channels. Around 15 to 20 students were injured. 30 students were charged by the police for attempt to murder, rioting etc. The police accused the students of blocking the road and engaging in violence by throwing stones. While the students claimed that the police had attacked the unarmed students who were holding a peaceful protest. The student stated that they were neither involved in any violence, nor did they block any roads and yet they were charged with batons. After the incident the college was shut down until 5 January, and the students were asked to leave the campus.

Jawaharlal Nehru University

On 5 January, at 6:30pm, a masked mob consisting of more than 60–100 people armed with rods and sticks attacked the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. The assault and vandalism lasted for 3 hours, where the mob chanted slogans exclaiming the victims to be "naxalites" and "anti-national". The mob assaulted journalists and social activist,

in the presence of media and police, who attempted to enter the campus on receiving news of the incident. The mob also punctured the tires of ambulances attending to the victims of the assault which had left more than 42 students and teachers as severely injured. Street lights were shut off by authorities during the incident. Students of the campus including the JNUSU president, Aishe Ghosh who was brutally attacked on head and was hospitalised, alleged the police of intentional inaction as police were informed before the assault about unknown groups entering in the campus. Around 30 students who were members of the left wing groups were injured along with 12 teachers. Visually impaired students were also not spared from assault. The students and left wing organisations accused the members of the BJP's student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad of orchestrating the attacks, while ABVP accused the left wing organisations. Professors who tried to intervene and save the students were also attacked. The policemen inside the campus allegedly did nothing to stop the mob. The assault was orchestrated through a Whatsapp group called "Unity against Left" which were traced through messages from members of the ABVP in the group. Students in Mumbai, launched a protest called "Occupy Gateway" late at night to protest against the assault. As a reaction to the assault, protests occurred across the country and in several cities.

Delhi

On 14 December 2019, thousands of agitators packed into

Road, filling up a space estimated to be half the size of a football ground, as multiple demonstrations occurred against the CAA in Delhi. The next day in Delhi near New Friends Colony, three Delhi Transport Corporation buses were torched. On 16 December, Priyanka Gandhi led a silent protest at the India Gate along with about three hundred congress workers to show solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia. On 17 December 2019, Delhi's Seelampur area had stone-throwing crowds face off against the police. The police retaliated with tear gas and batons, in which, according to local reports, several protesters and officers were injured. There were also reports of a police station being set on fire. According to police, buses were vandalised in the area. On 19 December 2019, the administrative authorities imposed a ban against public gatherings in parts of Delhi. 20 metro stations were closed to prevent the movement for protests. At least 700 flights were delayed and more than 20 cancelled due to traffic jams caused by police closing the roads to stifle protests. Protest meetings were held defying the ban in Red Fort and Mandi House. Access to the mobile internet was restricted in certain places in Delhi. Digital rights activists, who accessed and studied the order suspending internet in several areas in Delhi on 19 December, stated that it was not issued from the "right channels" and, therefore, was "illegal". Politicians

Nilotpal Basu Nilotpal Basu is an Indian politician. He was a Member of Parliament, representing West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha the upper house of India's Parliament as a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of Indi ...

Brinda Karat Brinda Karat (born 17 October 1947) is an Indian politician, elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) member on 11 April 2005 for West Bengal. In 2005, she became the first woman member of the CPI(M) Politburo. She ...

Ajay Maken Ajay Maken (born 12 January 1964) is a politician from the Indian National Congress party. He is the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). He was formerly a minister in ...

, Prakash Karat,

and D. Raja along with around 1,200 protesters were detained by the police. On 20 December 2019, two Delhi Metro stations – Jamia Millia Islamia and Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh were closed. Amid nationwide crackdown because of CAA, Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad's permission for the march from Jama Masjid to

had been denied by

. In spite of the denial of permission and the imposition of Section 144, a protest march was held where Azad was able to escape after being detained by the police. The protests were peaceful throughout the day, but in the evening a car was torched in Daryaganj after which the police attacked the protesters with water cannons and lathi charge. On the aftermath, Chandrashekhar Azad accused the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

of being responsible for the violence and sought for the resignation of the

Union Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minis ...

, Amit Shah. On 21 December, Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested along with 27 people and three FIRs were registered for the violent incidents on 20 December at Delhi Gate and Seemapuri. On 10 January 12 of those arrested were released on bail. On 15 January, a Delhi court granted bail and released Chandrashekhar Azad aka "Raavan". However, when presented in the Delhi Tis Hazari court on 14 January 2020, the court questioned the public prosecutor about what is wrong with protesting since many people who protested in past are sitting chairpersons in the present government. Protests were conducted by the journalists against the police brutality on the journalists covering the Anti-CAA protests especially in the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. In the protests,

stated that only the states ruled by the

were experiencing violence. He further added that the other states were peaceful and hinted that the differences between the situation in the states show the who were encouraging violence. On 23 December 2019, protests were held at multiple locations. 93 other students protesting outside Assam Bhawan and demanding the release of RTI activist Akhil Gogoi were detained by the police. The students alleged that the police used violence on the protesters. On 24 December 2019, Police imposed a ban on gatherings in central Delhi's Mandi House near the Lutyens' Zone to prevent the protest march of students from multiple universities. The anti CAA-NRC protest march was to start from Mandi House to

. On 27 December, the Delhi Police used facial recognition software by recording a video of the protester and checking it with the database of criminals maintained by them. On 14 January,

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

lawyers conducted a protest march from the Supreme Court to Jantar Mantar to protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR. On 19 January, in Delhi, hundreds of protesters joined a protest march holding lighted candles from Jamia University to Shaheen Bagh. Some of the protesters had dressed up as

, BR Ambedkar and other revolutionaries of the

Indian Independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...

. A model of detention camp was also paraded in the march.

North East Delhi riots

On 24 February, violent clashes occurred at Jaffrabad and Maujpur in which one police officer and a protester were killed. The pro-CAA demonstrators indulged in stone pelting with the anti-CAA protesters and vandalised houses, vehicles and shops. The police personnel used

and lathicharge against the protestors. Later, it was reported that four protestors also died during the violence. The

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

stated that the violence appeared orchestrated because of U.S. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's visit to India. On 26 February, The

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the lead ...

(USCIRF) condemned the violence in New Delhi. USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins said, "We urge the Indian government to make serious efforts to protect Muslims and others targeted by mob violence." The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also condemned the New Delhi violence. It stated that steps must be taken to prevent the incidents of "

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

" in the country. The OIC statement further went on to add that it "condemns the recent and alarming violence against Muslims in India, resulting in the death and injury of innocent people and the arson and vandalism of mosques and Muslim-owned properties." The Government of India (GOI) has reacted by describing the criticism from the OIC as "inaccurate, selective, and misleading." The GOI also described USCIRF's criticism as "factually inaccurate and misleading, and appear to be aimed at politicising the issue."

Shaheen Bagh

Since 14 December, a continuous 24/7 sit in protest is being conducted. The protest began in the afternoon of 14 December with just 15 local women, and went on to gather thousands of protesters with crowds reaching as high as 100,000 on Sundays. On New Year's Eve, thousands of protesters camping at the site sung the

Indian national anthem "" ( Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidh ...

. They were joined in by celebrities and activists on 31 December. The day was also recorded to have been the coldest in Delhi in the past 100 years. On 10 January, the

rejected a plea to shift the Shaheen Bagh protesters. The area has been covered with protest artwork.

West Bengal

On Saturday, 14 December 2019, violent protests occurred in West Bengal as the protesters attacked railway stations and public buses. Five trains were set on fire by the protesters in Lalgola and Krishnapur railway stations in Murshidabad district; railway tracks were also damaged in Suti. On Monday, 16 December 2019, tens of thousands of people joined a protest march led by Chief Minister

and her ruling

party. Mamata Banerjee stated that the NRC and CAA would not be implemented in West Bengal state as long as she was alive. She appealed people not to resort to violence, while accusing people from outside the state and members of the BJP of engaging in arson. On Tuesday, 17 December 2019, protests that included road and rail blockades continued in parts of West Bengal including the districts of

South 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore. It is the largest district of West Bengal by ...

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...

and Nadia. On 19 December 2019, a crowd with thousands of protesters gathered at Moulali in central Kolkata to peacefully object CAA and NRC. Mamata Banerjee held a second rally in Kolkata and stated that the Central Government was trying to project the CAA Protests as though it was a Hindu vs Muslim fight. She also stated that "BJP is buying skull caps for its cadres who are wearing them while vandalising properties to malign a particular community,". Earlier, on 18 December, a young BJP worker along with five associates, wearing lungi and skullcap were seen by the local residents throwing stones on a train engine. The arsonists were caught by the locals who handed them to the

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. Durin ...

police. On 21 December 2019, a protest march that the police estimated to be of 10,000 people was held in

from Shahid Minar till

Mahajati Sadan Mahajati Sadan is an auditorium located on Chittaranjan Avenue in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. This auditorium is regularly used for Bengali theatres. Seminars are also organized in the seminal hall of Mahajati Sadan. This auditorium was an impo ...

. Between 13 and 17 December 2019, multiple incidents of violence were reported during the protests. According to the police, as of 21 December, more than 600 people had been arrested for allegedly being involved in the violence. On 23 December 2019, Governor

Jagdeep Dhankhar Jagdeep Dhankhar (born 18 May 1951) is an Indian politician and lawyer, who is serving as the 14th and current vice president of India, since 11 August 2022. Prior to serving in this position, he served as the Governor of West Bengal. He als ...

was stopped by the students at Jadavpur University, from attending the university convocation ceremony. The vice-president of the BJP West Bengal unit raised questions that why the Muslims were excluded from the amendment if it was not about religion. On 24 December 2019, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lead a protest march in Kolkata from Swami Vivekananda statue at Bidhan Sarani. She accused PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of making contradictory statements. She stated "The prime minister is saying there has been no discussion or proposal on NRC. But a few days ago, BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said NRC exercise would be carried out across the country. Both the statements are contradictory. We wonder who is speaking the truth. They are trying to create confusion,". On 3 January, the radical Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) had planned an anti CAA protest for 5 January, but the West Bengal police denied permission for it. Since 7 January, women had been conducting a sit in protest at the grounds of Park Circus in Kolkata. On 11 January, PM Modi visited Kolkata on a two-day official visit. Hundreds of people protested against CAA at the Kolkata airport. Several parties and student unions launched a protest at the Dorina Crossing at Esplanade in Kolkata. SFI leader stated that the protests would continue till Sunday, until PM Modi (who had been visiting the city) was in Kolkata. On 22 January, a 5 kilometre long procession against CAA was led by CM Mamta Bannerjee in

, West Bengal. The participants wore ethnic dresses and also played musical instruments. The participants chanted anti CAA slogans and carried banners and posters. On 26 January (Republic Day), thousands formed parallel 11 km long human chains from

Shyambazar Shyambazar is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Bagbazar, the citadel of the Bengali ari ...

to Golpark in Kolkata.

Punjab

Protests begun in Malerkotta,

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...

and

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...

with the support of Khalsa Aid, Alliance of Sikh Organisations and various Dalit organisations. By 17 December, protests were being held in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...

, Malerkotla,

Machhiwara Sri Machhiwara Sahib is one of the developing cities in the Ludhiana district of the Indian state of Punjab. Machhiwara is famous for Gurudwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib associated with Guru Gobind Singh ji and named after the Guru's feet that are ...

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth l ...

and

. Students of Panjab University,

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

and Central University of Punjab took a leading role in the protests backed by the Association of Democratic Rights. Razia Sultana, the only Muslim MLA and a Minister of the Punjab Cabinet organised a large protest in Malerkotla. A cabinet meeting in Punjab decided to proceed as per the decision of the state assembly. A statement was released stating, "The ministers also expressed concern over the implications of the blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR," They also expressed concern on the violence over CAA stating, the issue "threatened to rip apart the secular fabric of the nation".

Uttar Pradesh

Protests were held in Aligarh,

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The ...

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

and

. Banaras Hindu University students also protested the police action targeting AMU and Jamia students. However, they also held a rally in support of the CAA and NRC. On 19 December, the administration banned public assembly all over the state to prevent further protests in the state. Access to the internet was restricted in Azamgarh district for 2 days, after protest continued for 2 days in the area. In Lucknow, several buses, cars, media vans and motorbikes were torched.

Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

stated that the authorities would seize the properties of those who indulge in violence in the state. On 20 December 2019, six protesters are killed in police firing in UP. According to the

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including a ...

, the death toll from Friday's protests in Uttar Pradesh's 13 districts has risen to 11. On 21 December 2019, violent protests along with alleged police brutality were reported from several districts across the state. Access to the internet was restricted. The number of fatalities in the state increased to 16. Multiple clashes causing injuries to several people were reported. According to the police, 263 policemen were injured, of which 57 were firearm injuries. NDTV later reported that they could only find one policeman with bullet wound and the police did not share the list of 57 policemen with bullet injuries. Police arrested 705 people in the state, with 102 arrested for making allegedly objectionable remarks or social media posts. According to the UP Police, as of 21 December, a total of 218 people had been arrested in Lucknow. On 24 December, Uttar Pradesh Police stated that 21,500 people were charged in 15 FIRs for violent incidents in Kanpur. In

Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar is a city under Muzaffarnagar District in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway (NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It is ...

the government, sealed 67 shops. Chief Minister, Adityanath had threatened the protesters that his government would auction the properties of the rioters to recover the losses due to the damage made to the property. On 26 December, In Sambhal, UP, the government sent notices to 26 people for their alleged involvement in damaging properties during protests and asked them to explain their position or pay for the loss due to damage of property. The losses to the property were assessed to be . Earlier, on 22 December, the UP government had created a panel to assess the damage to the property and to recover the losses by seizing the property of the alleged protesters. The social activists accused the government of intimidating the protesters. On 28 December, the ''Indian Express'' reported that with 19 killed and 1,246 people arrested based on 372 FIRs lodged in the state, UP was the worst affected state with the biggest police crackdown in India. Even though the official figure of number of deaths so far in UP was 19, opposition parties claimed that the actual figure was higher. The UP police had maintained that the deaths of protesters were not the result of police firing, but later on they admitted that some deaths were indeed caused by the police but attributed those incidents to shots fired in self defence. On 17 January in Lucknow, around 500 women along with their children started a sit in protest at 2 pm near the Clock Tower. The police tried to convince them to end the protest but the protesters refused to move. On the night of 18 January, Uttar Pradesh police cracked down on the CAA protesters and snatched their blankets, utensils and food items. The video of policemen carrying away the blankets was recorded and shared on social media. The conduct of UP police was criticised by the users and the phrase "KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE" (blanket thief UP Police) became the top trend on Twitter in India. The police responded saying that they had confiscated the blankets following due procedure. The protesters alleged that police also cut the electricity connection to the ground, locked the public toilet nearby and poured water on the bonfire in the winter night. The police had issued a prohibition on assembly in Lucknow, and stated that they will prosecute the protesters for violating it. On 21 January, police registered cases against 160 women for violation of the ban on assembly and protesting against CAA in Lucknow. On 16 December, in response to the police crackdown at Jamia Millia University in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University over the Citizenship Amendment Act, clashes between the police and protesters occurred in Dakshintola area of Mau, Uttar Pradesh. On 17 December, students of

assembled in a peaceful protest against the CAA and to express solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia.

Karnataka

On 16 December, protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were held in various parts of

. In

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

, hundreds of protestors marched on the street, raising slogans and took out bike rallies. The police imposed a ban on public assembly in Mysore. In

, the

students organised silent protest in the campus in solidarity with the students of Delhi and other parts of India. In

Shimoga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...

, former MLA K B Prasanna Kumar was leading the protests near Gandhi Park in the city. The police detained him alleging that the protests were turning violent. Protests also occurred in Bellary, Bidar,

, Kodagu and

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

. In Raichur protests were held after the announcement of the CAA, as the protestors had concerns that approximately 5,000 of the 20,000 Bangladeshi immigrants in the

Sindhanur Sindhanur is a city and taluk headquarter of Sindhanur taluk of Raichur District in Karnataka. It is the main commercial center o a e distri and the state. Riverer Tungabhadra covers the irrigation area by left bank canal. Most of the lan ...

camp would get Indian citizenship. On 21 January more than 300,000 people join an anti-CAA protest rally at Kalaburagi in Karnataka. The rally was held 13-acre Peer Bangali ground, where people waving national flags had occupied the ground and the nearby roads.

, general secretary of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...

and M. Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, activists Swamy Agnivesh and former IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil gave speeches in the event. Yechury asked the people to conduct a peaceful civil disobedience movement with aim to defy the CAA, NPR, and NCR to "save the country from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah".

Bangalore

On 19 December, hundreds of protesters, including historian

, were detained by the Bangalore Police from Town Hall. On 20 December, Karnataka High Court asked the state government to explain the prohibitions on the assembly in the state. On 23 December, over 100,000 protesters gathered around the town hall in Bangalore. On 4 January in Bangalore hundreds of protesters participated in a rally and accused

of attempts to divide India on the basis of religion, and distracting people from the issues of economic slowdown and job losses in the country. Respecting Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in force in the city until the midnight of 21 December, around 60 students from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore came out in turns at the campus gate and left blank placards and their footwear at the campus gate, letting their footwear represent them. As of 14 January 2020, 82 separate protest occasions had taken place in the city. The number was observed to be the highest number of protests in a month in the city's history. The protests were primarily held in Town Hall and

Freedom Park In the Philippines, a freedom park is a centrally located public space where political gatherings, rallies and demonstrations may be held without the need of prior permission from government authorities. Similar to free speech zones in the United S ...

. On 25 January, more than thousand women staged a sit in protest at Frazer Town in Bangalore for 48 hours.

Mangalore

According to ''India Today'', on 19 December seven CCTV recorded the arrival of a mob near a Mangalore police station along with a tempo carrying gunny bags full of stones. They then made an organised attempt to attack a police station, block all roads to the station, stone the police personnel and steal firearms. This was followed by the police firing on the mob, killing two people. The family of the deceased stated that the police used excessive force and should have tried to disperse the crowd instead. In

38 protesters from Campus Front of India who were marching towards the Deputy commissioner residence were arrested by the police arrested on charges of blocking traffic on Balmatta Road. On 19 December, a curfew was imposed in Mangalore until 20 December, while protesters marched on the streets defying prohibitory orders. Two people died with gunshot wounds after police fired on the crowd. The police in riot gear then entered the Highland Hospital where the two people with gunshot wounds were brought. The police were accused of beating up patients and their relatives. The incident was caught on CCTV Cameras, in which the policemen were seen banging on the hospital's ICU doors. Home Minister of Karnataka

Basavaraj Bommai Basavaraj Somappa Bommai (born 28 January 1960) is an Indian politician and engineer who is the current and 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the leg ...

accused the people from

for the violence in Mangalore. Karnataka Police restricted the entry of people from Kerala to Mangalore at the Thalappady state border and detained more than 50 people without identity cards. On 20 December, the mobile phones of several journalists in Mangalore (many from Kerala) were confiscated and the journalists were detained. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan who condemned the action as an attack on

media freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...

and intervened after which the journalists were released. On 22 December, the Karnataka government announced a compensation of each to the families of the two men killed in violent protests in Mangalore on 19 December. The compensation was later withheld and an enquiry was initiated on the killed men. On 15 January, more than 200,000 people joined the anti-CAA protests in Mangalore, hundreds of whom came to the venue in boats carrying Indian flags. Activists Harsh Mander and Kannan Gopinathan gave speeches during the protests. An organiser said that they considered the CAA, an anti-constitutional law that will be affecting not just Muslims but all religions. The event ended peacefully with the singing of National anthem.

Tamil Nadu

On 16 December, protests against CAA were organised by Muslim organisations and political parties in Tirupathur district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. Effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were burnt, after which more than a hundred people were detained by the police. Demonstrations protesting against the CAA and the attack on students in Delhi were also held by the students of Government Law College at Katpadi and Government Arts College in

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvann ...

. On 20 December, actor Siddharth, singer T. M. Krishna and 600 others were detained for anti-CAA protests in Valluvar Kottam In Chennai. On 23 December

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...

along with allied parties held a "mega rally" as an anti-CAA protest in Chennai. Protests were also continued to be held in various parts of Tamil Nadu including Salem and Krishnagiri. In Chennai, eight anti-CAA activists, including five women, were arrested for drawing '' kolams'' criticising the CAA and NRC. Following their arrest, the opposition DMK officially supported the ''kolam'' protest, and anti-CAA and anti-NRC ''kolams'' were drawn outside the houses of its leaders and members. On 16 January, police in

banned all protests in the city for a period of 15 days. 5 women and 1 man (including a physically disabled person) were detained by the police for protesting against CAA.

Gujarat

On 16 December, around 50 people protesting outside the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and

CEPT University CEPT University, formerly the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, is an academic institution located near university area in Ahmedabad, India offering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in areas of natural and dev ...

were detained by the Gujarat Police. On 17 December, five students were arrested by the Gujarat police for allegedly creating a

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

against Citizenship Act. According to the police, the students (all in their early twenties) of the

Maharaja Sayajirao University The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

's Fine Arts department had made a graffiti that said "no CAB Modi", but instead of the letter 'o' in the phrase the students made a '

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...

' sign. The graffiti was made at locations that included police headquarters, Kala Ghoda Circle, the Fatehgunj pavilion wall and the wall of a hostel near Rosary School. A police complaint was registered on 16 December for "using provocative and humiliating words to hurt sentiments of the people from one community and cause violence, and also damaging public property". The Police alleged that "They used slogans with certain symbols in their graffiti to intentionally hurt religious sentiments of a particular community and affect public peace and cause riots against members of a community. They also damaged public property." The police has already arrested five and two students who were absconding were being searched. On 19 December 2019, peaceful protest march were carried out in several parts of

. The peaceful protest march in

area turned violent after police intervened to disperse the crowd. Police used tear gas to counter stone pelting while trying to disperse a crowd of 2000 protesters. Protest rallies and strikes were also organised in several cities of Gujarat. On 19 December 2019, videos surfaced allegedly showing protestors attacking policemen in Ahmedabad and Banaskantha. On 25 December 2019, many activists alleged that

Nirma University Nirma University (NU) is a multi-disciplinary university located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It functions under the aegis of the Nirma Education and Research Foundation (NERF). The Gujarat Government has granted "Centre of Excellence" sta ...

in Ahmedabad tried to "intimidate" its students who took part in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and also advised their parents to "counsel" them. The SMS sent by the university to the protesting students' parents read thus: " It has come to our knowledge that your ward was involved in protest against recent issues. The Police and Intelligence Bureau-IB have taken details of your ward from us... This is also to inform you that if your ward continues to participate in the protest, the police might create a record against him." On 15 January 2020, a petition was filed in Gujarat High Court asking for the court's intervention to allow the petitioners to hold Anti-CAA protests in Ahmedabad. The petitioners stated that police did not grant them permission for peaceful anti-CAA protests but granted permission to 62 programmes held by the BJP to support the CAA. The petitioners said that the administration keeps denying the permission to Anti-CAA protesters and called it a violation of fundamental rights of the citizens. The Court asked the police to decide timely on the protests application.

Kerala

On 16 December, the ruling coalition, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), and the opposition coalition, the United Democratric Front (UDF), organised a joint

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

in the

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Martyr's Square. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that Kerala will "stand together to fight against the evil designs of the Modi government undermining the secular credentials of India", terming the Citizens Amendment Act "anti-constitutional and anti-people". Leader of the Opposition

Ramesh Chennithala Ramesh Chennithala, , (born 25 May 1956), is an Indian politician, and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Kerala Legislative Assembly. He also served as the state Home Minister in th ...

observed that another struggle for Independence is required to save the constitution from "

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

forces". On 17 December, A dawn-to-dusk hartal (shutdown) was observed in Kerala by

and other 30 organisation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the police violence against students at various universities across the country, in relation to anti-CAA protests. The Kerala police detained 233 people in connection with the hartal, including 55 people in Ernakulam, 51 in Thrissur and 35 in Idukki. In Palakkad 21 people have been detained, while 13 were detained in Kannur, 12 in Kottayam and 8 in Wayanad. On 23 December, multiple protests in Kochi was organised and took place. People's long march, which started from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium premises and ended near

Cochin Shipyard Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is a shipbuilding facility in India. It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Of the services provided by the shipyard are building platform suppl ...

. Cultural activists led another march from the Gandhi Square to Vasco De Gama Square at

Fort Kochi Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo ("Lower Kochi") in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European for ...

. Another march led by CPI state secretary

Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kanam ...

was also held at the same time started from Kalamassery and ended in Rajendra Maidanam. On 24 December, Differently-abled Come together against CAA and NRC at

Marine Drive, Kochi Marine Drive is a picturesque promenade in Kochi, India. It is built facing the backwaters, and is a popular hangout for the local populace. Despite its name, no vehicles are allowed on the walkway. Marine Drive is also an economically thrivin ...

. On 28 December, several delegates attending the Indian History Congress held at Kannur University protested during Kerala Governor

Arif Mohammad Khan Arif Mohammad Khan (born 18 November 1951) is an Indian politician representing the BJP. He currently serving as the Governor of Kerala & the Chancellor of all State Universities in Kerala. He is a former Union Minister. He has held several po ...

's speech. Some of them were detained by police, but were later released following an intervention by Kannur University. On 31 December, Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution demanding scrapping of the Act. On 1 January 2020 in

, around half a million assembled in peaceful rally to protest against the CAA-NRC, held between Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Marine Drive. On 14 January, the

approached Supreme Court to challenge the CAA under section 131 of the constitution and becomes the first state to do so. The article 131 of the Indian constitution provides Supreme Court the power to decide the disputes between the states and the Government of India. The Kerala government in its petition called the act "a violation of India's secular constitution" and accused the Indian government of dividing the country among religious lines. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, "Kerala will always remain in the forefront of this fight to protect the Indian constitution and the fundamental rights of its citizens,". Vijayan added that Kerala will save the rights of the citizens from the unconstitutional CAA by fighting against it using constitutional methods. On 26 January, to protest against the CAA and the proposed NRC the

Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the ...

led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had organised the human chain. The chain was formed by approximately 6 to 7 million people and extended for a distance of 620 kilometres from

Telangana

Millineum March at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park

On 16 December, thousands of students from major institutes in

such as University of Hyderabad,

and MANU University participated in protests, demanding a rollback of the CAA. On 21 December, numerous protests took place across Hyderabad organised by students, NGOs and various political parties. The Hyderabad Police stated that the protests remained peaceful. Protesters demanded Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, whose party Telangana Rashtra Samithi had voted against the bill in parliament, to end his silence with respect to the CAA. By 23 December, it was reported that protests had spread to smaller towns, including Nizamabad. On 4 January, more than 100,000 protesters attended the protest march named "Million March" in Hyderabad. The protesters displayed placards with slogans saying "Withdraw CAA immediately," and "India's only religion in secularism".

Bihar

On 17 December, posters describing Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unit ...

as "missing" were erected as a form of protest in Patna. Nitish Kumar had been criticised for his silence over the CAA. while his party, Janata Dal (United), had supported the bill in both the Houses of Parliament as part of the alliance with the

. The JD(U) party strategist

Prashant Kishor Prashant Kishor, colloquially known as PK, is an Indian political strategist and tactician. A public health expert by training, who worked with the United Nations for eight years before venturing into Indian politics and working as a political ...

, party spokesperson Pavan Verma and MLC Gulam Rasool Balyawi had voiced dissatisfaction over the party's stance on CAA. On 19 December, Nitish Kumar declared that the NRC will not be implemented in the state, becoming the first major

ally to reject the controversial measure. On 19 December, a

bandh Bandh (Devanagari: बंद) (literally: shutting down) is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community decl ...

was called by

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

parties in

, supported by a number of small parties, where protesters blocked rail and road traffic in protest against CAA and the proposed countrywide implementation of NRC. On Saturday, 21 December, a "Bihar bandh" was called by the

(RJD), where bandh supporters reportedly blocked railway tracks in

Araria Araria is a city and a municipality that is the headquarters of Araria district in the Indian state of Bihar. Araria is situated in the northern part of Bihar. Etymology During the British Raj the area was under the administration of a Britis ...

and

East Champaran East Champaran is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India.The district headquarters are located at Motihari. Prior to 1st Dec 1977, there was a single district called "Champaran". On 1st Dec 1977, the district was divided into 2 ...

districts. In Nawada, bandh supporters demonstrated on National Highway 31 where wheels were burned on the road and the movement of vehicles was disrupted, while in Vaishali, the highway was blocked with the help of buffaloes. In Patna, hundreds of party supporters with lathis entered the railway stations and bus stations with party flags, but were repulsed by policemen. At

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erst ...

, RJD workers and supporters protested bare chest, sloganeering against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and central government. During a protest at Phulwari Sharif near Patna, some of the miscreants started pelting stones and a clash broke out between protesters and the supporters of the Act. A nearby temple and a cemetery were damaged in the clash. Eyewitnesses said police had used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the people. Police said that people of Hindu community fired bullets that injured nine Muslim men. During the stampede, an eighteen years old teenage protester Amir Hanzla ran towards the lanes of Sangat Mohalla, a neighbourhood that was a hub of RSS-affiliated right wing Hindutva members. His dead body was found a week after he was allegedly murdered by the

extremists. Police arrested six people accused in the case who belonged to Hindu Putra Sangathan, a Hindutva group. All of the suspects confessed their crimes and police is also investigating 18 other organisations related to this extremist group.

Maharashtra

On 19 December, different NGOs and college students, backed by

Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party i ...

and

parties, jointly formed a front with the name "''Hum Bharat Ke Log''" and held a protest at the August Kranti Maidan. In Mumbai, several actors including Farhan Akhtar, Swara Bhaskar,

Huma Qureshi Huma Saleem Qureshi (; born 28 July 1986) is an Indian actress, model and producer who primarily appears in Hindi language films. She has also received three Filmfare Award nominations. Qureshi obtained a bachelor's degree in History—with ...

, Raj Babbar,

Sushant Singh Sushant Singh (born 9 March 1972) is an Indian character actor, television actor, author and presenter known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and Telugu cinema. He made his screen debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal Varma's ''Satya''. ...

, Javed Jaffrey,

Aditi Rao Hydari Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi and Tamil film industry. She made her film debut with the Malayalam film ''Prajapathi'' in 2006. She went on to have major to minor supporting roles in several Hindi films, includi ...

, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Konkona Sen Sharma,

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), '' Earth'' (1998), ''Bawandar'' (2000), ''Kannathil Muthamittal'' ...

, Arjun Mathur and filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and Saeed Mirza joined in the protest venue. Mumbai police had deployed more than 2,500 policemen to monitor and control around 20,000 protesters. The peaceful protest concluded without any violent incidents. Mumbai police was praised by prominent artists including Farhan Akhtar, Swara Bhaskar, Kunal Kamra, politician Milind Deora and citizens for its professional conduct in maintaining law and order. Protests were held in other cities in the state such as

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nash ...

, Malegaon,

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

and

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

. On 28 December, on the occasion of the foundation day of the party, the state unit of the Congress party in Mumbai undertook a flag march and used the slogan "Save Bharat-Save Constitution". The march started from the August Kranti Maidan and ended at the statue of

Lokmanya Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya ( IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence ...

near Girgaum Chowpatty. It was attended by office bearers and workers of the party. Similar marches were held in many parts of the country. On the midnight of 6 January, students of IIT Bombay began a protest called "Occupy Gateway" in Mumbai in response to the attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University campus. They were joined in by hundreds of protesters, including activists Feroze Mithiborwala,

and comedian Kunal Kamra. On 12 January, thousands of people joined the anti-CAA protests at Jogeshwari in Mumbai. Slogans such as "I Am From Gujarat, My Documents Burned in 2002", "No CAA, Boycott NRC, Stop Dividing India, Don't Divide us", "Save Constitution", were displayed on the banners. Large number of policemen were also deputed for security. Inspired by the Shaheen Bagh protest, a massive anti-CAA-NRC-NPR protest started in Mumbai on 17 January. Around 10,000 women gathered at the YMCA Ground in Mumbai to protest in the evening. The protest was organised by a NGO named Mumbai Citizen Quorum. A statewide shutdown, "Maharashtra Bandh" was organised by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) along with 35 other organisations across

state, to protest against CAA and the economic policies of the BJP-led central government, which according to the organisers "were ruining the country". The activists of VBA forced shopkeepers to shut down their stores. A bus was damaged due to stone pelting. On 6 January, 50,000 women held an "all women's rally" in Malegaon to protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR. The rally was organised by Dastoor Bachao Committee and Shan-e-Hind, an affiliate of Janata Dal (Secular). On 1 February, thousands gathered for the

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The events som ...

, Queer Azaadi Mumbai at August Kranti Maidan which joined in slogans against the CAA and NRC.

Pune

On 11 January, an all women sit in protest was started outside Konark Mall in Kondhwa, in

, organised by Kul Jamaat-e-Tanzeem, an umbrella body of several organisations. the protests started with fewer people participating but the crowd grew steadily and reached around 500–600 protesters as reported on 19 January. According to a protester the movement was to save the constitution and the country. Candle light vigil, human chains and speeches were made as part of the protest. The venue had banners with slogans such as 'Tumhari Lathi Se Tej Hamari Awaaz Hai' and 'Liar Liar Desh on Fire', as well as 'India Needs Education, Jobs, Not CAA, NRC, NPR'.

Nagpur

In Nagpur, on 24 January, lawyers, doctors and professors conducted a rally. In the rally a high court judge, Ravi Shakar Bhure said that the judiciary had become helpless as well and termed the actions of the government to be part of a massive conspiracy.

Other states and union territories

* Meghalaya: On 9 December, large scale protests were held in the state. Vehicles and buildings were vandalised in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a ...

. Curfew and internet restrictions were imposed in several parts of the state. On 20 December, the internet restrictions were lifted after an order from Guwahati High Court while night curfews remained in place. The agitations continued in the state with the capital of Shillong being primarily affected. The agitations were led by student organisations with regular demonstrations taking place in universities like North East Hill University. * Goa: On 13 December,

Goa Forward Party Goa Forward Party ( GFP) is a regional political party in the western coastal Indian state of Goa, led by Vijai Sardesai. The GFP fielded four candidates in the 2017 Goa Assembly election and won three seats. It played a crucial, if controver ...

chief, Vijai Sardesai, who dubbed the bill as "communal ammunition bill", took part in the protests in Margao. On 22 February, over 15,000 people gathered at a protest in the capital city

Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary i ...

, organised by the "Goa Alliance Against CAA-NRC-NPR" with support from the Goa Church. * Chhattisgarh: On 15 December, a protest march was held under the banner of the "Anti-CAB Agitation Forum" from Marine Drive area to Ambedkar Chowk in Raipur in the evening. * Odisha: On 16 December, thousands of protesters, including farmer leaders, student activists,

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

leaders and people with disability, hit the road in Odisha against the CAA, NRC and the attack on Jamia students. They marched from Satyanagar Mosque towards the residence of Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the president of the Biju Janata Dal, a writer and has authored three books. He is the longest-serving chief min ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar i ...

. They also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister and Governor Ganeshi Lal. On 30 January, 25,000 protesters marched through central Bhubaneswar to protest against the CAA. * Uttarakhand: On 16 December, protest marches were organised in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, district and is governed by the Dehr ...

, Kashipur,

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the ri ...

, Nainital and

Udham Singh Nagar Udham Singh Nagar District (officially District of Udham Singh Nagar )is a district of Uttarakhand state in northern India. Rudrapur is the district headquarters. This district consists of nine Tehsils named Bajpur, Gadarpur, Rudrapur, Jaspu ...

, Haldwani, districts opposing the law terming it discriminatory and unconstitutional. * Chandigarh: On 19 December, over 700 students from Punjab University accompanied by students, activists and residents of surrounding districts like

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-ar ...

and

conducted a protest march in city. * Manipur: On 19 December, women vendors of

Ima Market ) , other_name = , nickname = Nupi Keithel ( en, Women's Market) Khwairamband Keithel ( en, Khwairamband Market) , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , ima ...

held a silent protest by closing down all their shops. Students also held protest rallies where a few minor scuffles broke out between them and security forces. * Madhya Pradesh: On 20 December, protests reportedly turned violent in

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...

, leading to a curfew being imposed in four police station limits. * Rajasthan: On 22 December, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot led a protest march of nearly 300,000 people christened "'' Samvidhan Bachao rally''" against CAA. The protestors stated that CAA was against the constitution and is an attempt to divide the people based on their religion. They demanded that the new law be repealed. The protest march was supported by several political parties including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Janata Dal (Secular). On 24 December 200,000 people attended a protest in Kota. On 25 January, Rajasthan Assembly, with Congress in the majority, passed a resolution asking the central government to repeal CAA and also objected against the NPR and NRC.

Overseas

CAA-NRC_protest_at_Mahatma_Gandhi_Statue_Washington_DC

Various cities around the world, including New York City, Washington D. C., Paris, Berlin,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, Barcelona, San Francisco, Tokyo,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, witnessed protests against the Act and the police brutality faced by Indian protesters. North America Protests were held in solidarity with Indian protesters outside the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Washington D. C. Protests were also held at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

in the United States, where the students held demonstrations against the violent police crackdown in Jamia Milia Islamia. Around 100 students and faculty members of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

tore up copies of the CAA and 150 others marched to the Indian consulate in Chicago to condemn the repressive behaviour of police against the students. On 19 December, around 400 present students along with former students of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

and the

condemned the arbitrary use of power of policing and asked the

Home Minister of India The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Mini ...

to curb the brutality. On 26 January 2020, the 71st Republic Day of India, protest held in 30 cities of the United States including cities which have Indian consulates like, New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco and in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. Various organisations including Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Equality Labs, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) participated in the protest. Europe The first anti-CAA protests in Europe were held outside the High Commission of India in London, on 14 December 2019. On 16 December, students at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

in the United Kingdom demonstrated their protest against the Act. The university and College Union, Edinburgh had released a statement in solidarity condemning the brutal inflictions exercised by state police on the students of various universities in the country who were protesting against the Act. On 20 December 2019, students from various universities in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

protested against the Act and the National Register of Citizens in front of the Indian Embassy at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. Around 300 students from University of Leiden,

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

, and

Erasmus University Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...

assembled in a peaceful protest by reading the Preamble to the Constitution of India and anti-CAA slogans. Till date, four protests were held in front of the embassy by the Indian diaspora living in the Netherlands. Protests were also held in

, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland with Berlin even seeing a protest march from the Brandenburg Gate till the Indian embassy. On 21 December 2019, around a hundred students and professionals of Indian origin living in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

, Germany gathered at the memorial to the White Rose Movement outside the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

(LMU) and protested against the CAA, NRC, and the police action against the students of Jamia Millia Islamia and

. Diverse voices from France too, joined in for anti-CAA, anti-NRC protests. A letter of solidarity with protests in India and condemning the citizenship legislation, signed by hundreds of students and other professionals including eminent writers like Shumona Sinha, Amit Chaudhuri, musicians- Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Prabhu Edouard et al. preceded a planned mass protest gathering. On 4 January 2020, peaceful and song-filled protests by students, educationists and others from the Indian and foreign diaspora were held at Parvis du Trocadéro in Paris and also in front of the Indian Embassy, Paris despite facing the irk of some local BJP supporters. On 14 January, more than 500 people gathered outside the Indian embassy in London to protest against the CAA. In

, Germany more than 200 people join the protest march against CAA, NRC, JNU attack on 19 January. The march was led by the Indian diaspora and started at the Brandenburg Gate and ended at the Indian Embassy. On 20 January, several Labour MPs of the UK parliament discussed the concerns on the CAA, in a meeting organised by South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG) and Ambedkar International Mission (UK) in London. The MPs expressed concern on its implications on human rights and disenfranchisement of Muslims. On 25 January, in London, around 2000 of people from the Indian diaspora and the Human Rights organisation, conducted a protest march against CAA from the Downing street to the Indian High Commission. The protesters demanded the repeal of the CAA stating that it impacts the secular constitution of India. The protesters carried banners with slogans such as "Protect the Constitution", "Stop Dividing India", "United Against Racism in India" and "No Citizenship on the Basis of Religion". The protester also asked for the abolishing the NPR and NRC which could be used along with the CAA for a mass disenfranchisement of Muslims in India. During the march, MP

Sam Tarry Samuel Peter Tarry (; born 27 August 1982) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South since 2019. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. On 11 October 2022 he was deselect ...

, from the UK Opposition Labour Party while addressing the crowd, stated "We are not here as any anti-India demonstration, we are here as a pro-India demonstration. It is incredibly important that our voices are heard against laws that are not good for the future of the country," he added that the human rights in any country is an international issue. Labour MPs

Stephen Timms Sir Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955) is a British politician who served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North E ...

, Clive Lewis and Nadia Whittome supported the protest with written messages and asked the UK government to discuss it with the Indian government. Some of the groups backing the march were Indian Workers Association (GB), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) India Society, CasteWatch UK, Tamil People in the UK, Indian Muslim Federation(UK), Federation of Redbridge Muslim Organisations (FORMO), Kashmir Solidarity Movement, South Asian Students Against Fascism. A five-page resolution against the CAA was drafted by more than 150 members of the European Union, who stated that it "marks a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India and is set to create the largest statelessness crisis in the world and cause immense human suffering". The members pointed out that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called the CAA 'fundamentally discriminatory', and also accused the Indian government of "discriminating against, harassing and prosecuting national and religious minorities and silencing any opposition, human rights groups... and journalists critical of the government". The members have asked EU to include a "strong human rights clause with an effective implementation and suspension mechanism" while negotiating any trade agreement with India. Asia and Oceania Several silent protests were held in December by students in Israel. On the same day, students of University of Dhaka assembled in solidarity for the student protesters who were beaten by police and also condemned the CAA. On 22 December, members of the Indian community in Australia gathered at the Parliament of Victoria in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

in huge numbers and protested against the new Act and police brutality through sloganeering. On 24 December, a 32-year-old Indian national protested against the CAA in the district of Marina Bay in Singapore. The local authorities called it an unauthorised protest on foreign politics. Africa Protests were held outside the Indian Consulate in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Methods

The protesters used various methods including

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". H ...

, '' Dharna'', ''

Gherao Gherao, meaning "encirclement", is a word which denotes a tactic used by labour activists and union leaders in India; it is similar to picketing. Usually, a group of people would surround a politician or a government building until their demands a ...

'', hunger strikes, '' Satyagraha'', '' Hartal'',

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The ter ...

, '' arsons'', stone pelting, hashtag activism,

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

and ''

Bandh Bandh (Devanagari: बंद) (literally: shutting down) is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community decl ...

'' against the bill.

Slogans and poems

Protesters used several slogans and poems during the protests. Lyricist and Urdu poet

Rahat Indori Rahat Indori, born as Rahat Qureshi, (1 January 1950 – 11 August 2020) was an Indian Bollywood lyricist and Urdu poet. He was also a former professor of Urdu language and a painter. Prior to this he was a pedagogist of Urdu literature at DA ...

's famous ''

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

'' ''"Sabhi ka khoon hai shaamil yahan ki mitti mein; kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai"'' (This land has seen sacrifices from everyone; Hindustan is not anyone's property) resonates throughout the protest. Revolutionary poems by

Pash Pash (9 September 1950 – 23 March 1988) was the pen name of Avtar Singh Sandhu, one of the major poets in the Punjabi literature of the 1970s. He was killed by extremists on 23 March 1988. His strongly left-wing views were reflected in his ...

like ''"Main Ghas Hoon; Main aapke Kiye Dhare Par Ugh Ayunga"'' (I am grass, I will rise everywhere), lyricist and writer Varun Grover's poem like ''"Tanashah aakar jayenge, hum kagaz nahi dikhayenge"'' (Dictators will come and go but we will not show our documents), ''"Main Inkaar Karta Hoon"'' (I refuse) penned by singer Aamir Aziz and the popular poem ''"Main Hindustani Musalmaan Hoon"'' (I am an Indian Muslim) by Indian spoken word poet Hussain Haidry has been used during the protests. Along with poems, the famous revolutionary ''"Aazadi!"'' slogan by JNU students has been used extensively throughout the protest in all over the country and abroad. Slogans, poems and songs used during

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...

like ''"Inquilab Zindabad"'' (Long live the revolution) coined by Indian freedom fighter Hasrat Mohani, ''"

Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna ''Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna'' is an Urdu patriotic poem written by Bismil Azimabadi as a dedication to young freedom fighters of the Indian independence movement.Das, Sisir Kumar, "A Chronology of Literary Events / 1911–1956", in Das, Sisir ...

aab haamare dill mein hai; Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qatil mein hai"'' (The desire for revolution is in our hearts; Let's see how much strength the enemy has) written by Bismil Azimabadi which were later popularised by martyr Bhagat Singh,

Ashfaqullah Khan Ashfaqulla Khan (22 October 1900 – 19 December 1927) was an Indian independence activist in the Indian independence movement and co-founder of the Hindustan Republican Association. Early life Khan was born in the Shahjahanpur district of the ...

, Chandrashekhar Azad and Ram Prasad Bismil were used as main vocal resistance during the protest. Protesters used the poetry written by revolutionary poets such as

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

and Habib Jalib, both considered symbols of resistance against military dictatorships and state oppression in Pakistan. Poems such as ''"

Hum Dekhenge Hum Dekhenge ( ur, - In english ''We shall see'') is a popular Urdu nazm, written by the Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Originally written as ''Va Yabqá Vajhu Rabbika (And the countenance of your Lord will outlast all)'', it was includ ...

"'' (We will witness) penned by Faiz and ''"Main nahin janta, main nahin manta"'' (I refuse to acknowledge, I refuse to accept) penned by Jalib inspired large scale protests in form of banners and recitations. ''"

Saare Jahan Se Achcha "Sare Jahan se Accha" (Urdu: ; ''Sāre Jahāṉ se Acchā''), formally known as "Tarānah-e-Hindi" (Urdu: , "Anthem of the People of Hindustan"), is an Urdu language patriotic song for children written by poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal in the ...

Hindustan Haamara"'' (Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan) by Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal was recited in the protests. Singer and lyricist Aamir Aziz wrote ''Main Inkaar Karta Hoon'' as a Hindustani protest poem. Aziz's work was political poetry which was used during the protests and also to protest against the police brutality on the student protesters who were demonstrating against the Act. Along with Hindi and Urdu literature, English poems and slogans were also used for the protests. Among those one such dramatic monologue by a teacher named Ajmal Khan, "Write me down!, I am an Indian; This is my land, If I have born here, I will die here; There for, Write it down! Clearly In bold and capital letters, On the top of your NRC, that I am an Indian!", improvised from Mahmoud Darwish's song Write Down!, questions the Act's secularism and the Government. The poem strongly urged not to question the identity and patroitism of the Indian Muslims, the tribals, the poor, the landless, the Dalits and questioned the various actions of right wing organisations in the country.

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

co-founder and musician

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-s ...

recites "Everything will be remembered, Everything recorded", an English Transliteration of Aamir Aziz's poem ''"Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega"'' at a protest in London.

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

poem were also recited to protest. Siraj Bisaralli, a Kannada poet, recited his own poem ''"Ninna Dakhale Yaavaga Needuttee?"'' (When will you show your documents?) at a cultural festival and got arrested. English placards like " Modi-

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

, You Gave Me Depression", "Rise Against Fascism", "Don't Be Dead Inside For Democracy", "Fascism, Down Down", "I'll show you my documents, if you show your degree!" were used against the CAA-NRC and the Government, and placards like "Delhi Police: Shanti (Peace), Sewa (Service), Nyaya (Justice)?" and "Make Tea Not War" questions the Delhi Police's brutal actions against student protesters.

Art

No NPR CAA NRC graffiti public toilet Shaheen Bagh protests New Delhi 8 Jan 2020

Various artists created comics, illustrations, and posters against the CAA and NRC. Several political cartoonists created pieces covering the protests. A group of activists in Chennai drew '' kolams'' (geometrical patterns drawn on the ground with rice flour or chalk) criticising the CAA and NRC. This novel protest was then officially supported by the opposition DMK party. Following the ''kolam'' protests in Tamil Nadu, anti-CAA protestors in West Bengal also started drawing ''kolams'', known as ''alpana'' or '' rangoli'' in Bengal.

Government

The government used various methods to stop the protests, including mass shooting by riot police, ''lathi charge'', mass arrest, Internet shutdown, curfew, transport restrictions, water cannon, and imposing ban on assembly ( Section 144).

Participants

The law was considered controversial since the time it was proposed, leading to protests from students, political organisations and citizen groups. On 4 December, the draft legislation was shared and the student organisation,

(AASU) objected to the proposal. AASU had participated in the Assam Movement in the 1970s and 1980s against the illegal immigration of Bangladeshis. The protests started in Assam in early December. By 12 December, students in at least 50 colleges and universities nationwide had joined the protests. The student protests subsequently grew and spread all over the country and several political and citizen groups joined it.

Student organisations

Protesting

* Kerala State Muslim Students Federation *

Muslim Youth League Muslim Youth League, abbreviated as the Youth League, is the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Ind ...

* All Assam Students’ Union * Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad *

All India Students Federation The All India Students' Federation (AISF) is the oldest surviving student organisation in India, founded in 1936. Pre-independence AISF was founded on 12 August 1936, with guidance and cooperation from the Indian independence movement. The ...

* Chhatra Bharati * Pinjra Tod * Students For Society *

Ambedkar Students' Association Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA) is a student organization in India representing students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), religious minorities and other oppressed communities. ASA works for th ...

* Students Federation of India (affiliated to the

) * Democratic Youth Federation of India (youth wing of the

) *

National Students' Union of India The National Students Union of India, the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress), was established on 9 April 1971. The organisation was founded by Indira Gandhi after merging the Kerala Students Union and the West Beng ...

(student wing of the

) *

Indian Youth Congress The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. While p ...

(youth wing of the Indian National Congress party). *

All India Students Association All India Students' Association (AISA) is a left wing student organisation in India. It describes itself as "the voice of the radical students' movement" and is affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation. The ass ...

(student wing of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (abbreviated: CPI(ML)L or CPI-ML(L) or CPIML Liberation) also referred to as the Liberation Group, is a Communist political party in India. History In 1973 the original Communi ...

) *

All India Democratic Students Organisation All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) is a student organisation in India. It was founded on 28 December 1954, and is affiliated with the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist). Its motto is ''struggle, unity, progress''. Bas ...

(affiliated to the

Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C), previously called the Socialist Unity Centre of India and "Socialist Unity Centre", is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibda ...

) * Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) *

Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) is a student organization formed on 15 November 2014 at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Birsa Munda's birth anniversary. It claims to work for student rights and the issues affecting SCs, STs, OB ...

* All India Catholic University Federation * All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union * North East Students' Organisation *

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union or JNUSU is a students' union at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. The JNUSU follows the student drafted JNUSU constitution. The Students' Union has four central panel positions. These are ...

* Students Islamic Organisation of India * Campus Front of India *

Mizo Zirlai Pawl Mizo Zirlai Pawl (lit. ''Mizo students' Association'') is a Mizo multinational student organization and apex students body in Mizoram state. Established on 27 October 1935 in Shillong by Mizo earlier educated students. Originally as the Lushai ...

* Twipra Students Federation *

All India Sikh Students Federation The All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), is a Sikh student organisation and political organisation in India. AISSF was formed in 1943. as the youth wing of the Akali Dal, which is a Sikh political party in the Indian Punjab. Origin Befo ...

* All Idu Mishmi Students Union * All Tai Ahom Students’ Union

Pro-government

Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) () is a right-wing all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). History The ABVP, founded in 1948 with the initiative of the RSS ...

(student wing of the

) * Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (student wing of the

)

Casualties

As of 4 January, 21 people were killed by police firing guns during the CAA protests in Uttar Pradesh, 3 killed in Karnataka and 5 in Assam. All the three states were ruled by BJP. Overall, 27 people were killed by police firing guns in the whole of India. With 19 killed and 1,246 people arrested based on 372 FIRs lodged in the state, UP was the worst affected state with the biggest police crackdown in India. * 12 December Name of those killed in anti-caa protests on an India Gate artwork at Shaheen Bagh 11 Jan 2020

Name of those killed in anti-caa protests on an India Gate artwork at Shaheen Bagh 11 Jan 2020

:* Dipanjal Das (23), Sam Stafford (17), Abdul Alim (23), Ishwar Nayak (25), Azizul Haque (45) and Dwijendra Panging (35) in

. * 19 December :* Nausheen Bengre (23) and Jaleel Kudroli (49) in Mangalore,

* 20 December :* Mohammad Sageer (8), in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh, was killed in a stampede of people fleeing police

lathi charge A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military in response to public disorder. In South Asia, a long bamboo stick, called ''lathi'' in Hindi, is used for crowd control, and the expressi ...

following CAA protests after Friday prayers. :* Mohammad Wakeel (25) in Uttar Pradesh. :*Aftab Alam (22) and Mohammad Saif (25) in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh :*Asif (20), Arif (25), Zaheer (40), and Moshin (25) from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh :* Nabi Jahan (24) in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh :* Faiz Khan (24) in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh :* Anas (22) and Sulaiman (26) from Nehtaur area,

Bijnor Bijnor is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India :* Noor-e-Alam in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh * 21 December :* Mohammad Bilal (27) and Shehroz (22) in Uttar Pradesh. * 23–27 February 2020 – 47 people were killed during the

Impact

As the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Act turned violent, authorities of

Dibrugarh University Dibrugarh University is a collegiate public state university in the Indian state of Assam. It is located at Dibrugarh, Assam, India. It was set up in 1965 under the provisions of the Dibrugarh University Act, 1965 enacted by the Assam Legislat ...

and

postponed all semester exams scheduled up-to 16 December 2019. No play was possible on the fourth day of the

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

match between

and Services in the

2019–20 Ranji Trophy The 2019–20 Ranji Trophy was the 86th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India. It took place between December 2019 and March 2020. Chandigarh competed in the Ranji Trophy for the first time. Vidarbha wer ...

because of the protests. BCCI shifted two fixtures featuring three northeastern teams to other venues. The protests also affected the football matches of

NorthEast United NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Supe ...

, with their fixture against Chennaiyin getting postponed. The India-Japan summit in Guwahati, which was supposed to be attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also cancelled.

Economy

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'' reported that, during the second half of December, there had been a decline in the sales of cars, watches and other consumer goods, due to the ongoing protests.

Transport

Several trains and at least 700 flights were delayed and more than 20 cancelled as a result of the protests. Train services were completely suspended in parts of Assam after two railway stations in the state were set on fire. It was reported that the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

suffered losses worth in property damage due to the protests, including losses worth over in West Bengal alone. On 20 December, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation suspended all bus services to Mangalore, while many Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation buses were blocked in Kerala. On 19 and 20 December, several stations of the Delhi Metro were closed as a precautionary measure. On 19 December, the Delhi Gurgaon Expressway, Delhi-Gurgaon highway was closed in view of the protests scheduled in Delhi.

Communication

The government imposed Internet outage, internet shutdowns in the states of

and

, five districts in

and parts of Delhi. Mobile internet and SMS services were suspended in several places in

such as

, Ghaziabad,

, Meerut and

Tourism

Canada, France, Israel, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, the U.S. and the UK have issued travel advisories for nationals travelling to northeast India. The protests reportedly resulted in a 60% decline in tourists visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra for the month of December. The number of visitors went down by at least 90% in the state of Assam, according to the head of Assam Tourism Development Corporation.

Reactions

Domestic

Return of Awards and Honours

* Mujtaba Hussain returned his Padma Shri and claimed Indian democracy has reduced to "a joke". * The crews of the Malayalam film ''Sudani from Nigeria,'' which had won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, national award for the best Malayalam film in the 66th National Film Awards decided to boycott the awards ceremony over the protests. * Shirin Dalvi decided to return his Sahitya Akademi Award, Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Akademi Award. * Jahnu Barua withdrew his film ''Bhoga Khirikee'' from the Assam State Film Awards.

International

*: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai urged Government of India to treat all minorities equally. In an interview to ''The Hindu'', he said, "We don't have persecuted minorities in Afghanistan." Mentioning about the Afghanistan conflict (1978–present), Afghanistan conflict, he said, "The whole country is persecuted. We have been in war and conflict for a long time. All religions in Afghanistan, Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs, which are our three main religions, have suffered." *: In an interview to ''Gulf News'' Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "Within India, people are facing many problems" and expressed her concerns saying, "We don't understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary". Though she maintained her stance that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India. But Hasina's government had previously said that minority communities did not leave Bangladesh because of persecution. She also said that Prime Minister Modi assured her of no reverse migration from India. *: ''People's Daily'', an official newspaper of Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, justified internet restrictions citing India's internet shutdowns. The newspaper said that India did not hesitate to shut down the internet in its two states when there was a significant threat to its national security; according to an article in ''The Times of India'', activists described the justification as setting a dangerous precedent for internet freedom. *: The Fidesz Hungarian government in Hungary has expressed support for India on Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir and the Citizenship Amendment Act protests. *: In a statement issued during National Assembly (Kuwait), National Assembly session in Kuwait group of lawmakers expressed their concern regarding "abusive legislative and repressive security measures" taken by the Government of India. *: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said "Already people are dying because of this law, so why is there a necessity to do this thing?". In response, the Government of India summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Malaysian Embassy over the matter. *: The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan criticised the CAA by claiming that "the present Government. of India has been exposed of its fascist agenda as minorities have come out to protest against the CAA". He also expressed his concern that, such policies by the government. may create a major refugee crisis in the sub-continent. *: United States Congress, US Congress think tank Congressional Research Service expressed concerns that the CAA along with the NRC may affect the status of the Indian Muslim community.

Organisation

*: EU resolution states that CAA marks 'a dangerous shift ' in the way citizenship will be determined in India and is set to create the 'largest statelessness crisis in the world'. *: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC expressed their concern about present situation of CAA-NRC and urged the Government of India to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority and to follow obligation of Charter of the United Nations. *: Secretary-General of the United Nations,

condemned the "violence and alleged use of excessive force by security forces" and urged the Government of India to respect the freedom of expression and opinion and freedom of assembly, freedom of peaceful assembly.

Human rights organisations

* United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR): Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had said that it is ‘concerned’ that the CAA is ‘fundamentally discriminatory in nature’. In a press briefing OHCHR said that CAA appears to "undermine the commitment to equality before the law enshrined in India's constitution and India's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination", which prohibit discrimination based on racial, ethnic or religious grounds. It also said that "all migrants, regardless of their migration status, are entitled to respect, protection and fulfilment of their human rights." * Human Rights Watch (HRW): South Asia Director for HRW, Meenakshi Ganguly said that the "government failed to grasp the extent of public opposition over the erosion of basic rights evident in these protests". She urged that the government must establish an independent investigation into allegations of "excessive force, brutality, and vandalism" by police. Its "strongest response to the protests would be to repeal" the Act and "withdraw its plan for citizenship verification that threatens marginalized communities", the organisation said. According to an 82-page report published on 9 April 2020, by Human Rights Watch, "‘Shoot the Traitors’: Discrimination Against Muslims Under India's New Citizenship Policy," the police forces and other law enforcement officials perpetually failed in intervening during clashes between the supporters of the BJP government and those protesting against the new citizenship policies, in which the latter became a victim of repeated attacks. *

: Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty India said "The CAA is a bigoted law that legitimises discrimination on the basis of religion." He also said that people should have the right to protest peacefully and should have right to freedom of peaceful assembly which facilitate freedom of expression and allows public debate. However, the Central Government and other state governments "rather than respecting, protecting and promoting this right, are clamping down on protestors by using repressive laws". Amnesty has also informed the US lawmakers that the CAA stands in "clear violation" of the constitution of India and international human rights law and "legitimises discrimination" on the basis of religion.

Pro-CAA demonstrations

Rallies and demonstrations in support of Citizenship Amendment Bill were held in New Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Bangalore, Dehradun and some other places. A rally in Kolkata was headed by Jagat Prakash Nadda, working national president of BJP, and was attended by Hindu refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Protests against CAA were condemned in these rallies and hailed

for taking a decision on CAA. Nine Jainism, Jain organisations came out in support of CAA on 20 December 2019 and thanked a BJP politician and BJP for the Amendment. Over 1,000 academicians released statements in support of CAA. Signatories included Swapan Dasgupta, Shishir Bajoria, journalist Kanchan Gupta and JNU faculty and administration including professor Amin ul-Hasanat, Ainul Hasan, JNU dean of students Umesh Ashok Kadam and JNU registrar Pramod Kumar. The President of Delhi University Students' Union released a statement in support of the CAA which was condemned by other student unions of colleges under Delhi University and also a group of Delhi University students condemned by releasing another statement. A pro-CAA rally named ''Jana Jagarana Rally'', was organised at Tirupati and attended by BJP national vice-president and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and mostly BJP workers. The participants raised slogans in support of CAA and carried placards with slogans such as ''‘We support CAA’'', ''‘India supports CAA’'', ''‘CAA a punishment to intruders and traitors’'' and ''‘CAA protects refugees’''. The participants also carried a 500-metre-long Indian national flag.

Assam

A rally was organised by BJP to support the Citizenship Amendment Act in Assam's Morigaon on 27 December in which over 50,000 civilians, including BJP workers,

and Bodoland People's Front leaders took part. The 4-km long rally was led by Assam Chief Minister of Assam

and state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

West Bengal

Thousands of BJP workers took out a massive rally named ''Abhinandan Yatra'' or ''Thanks-giving rally'' in North Kolkata in support of CAA on 30 December. It was led by the party's Working President J P Nadda to thank Prime Minister

for enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act. Road traffic in many parts of central and north Kolkata was paralysed in the afternoon.

Gujarat

On 24 December, a large gathering was organised at Sabarmati Ashram,

. Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat was present at the event, said that Gujarat will definitely implement CAA. He also stated that "Muslims have 150 countries to go while Hindus have only one." BJP leaders and ministers took parts in the different rallies organised across all 33 districts of Gujarat.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra witnessed pro-CAA demonstrations in cities including Nagpur, Mumbai, Yavatmal, Wardha and Pune. On 23 December 2019, RSS linked organisations carried out rally in Nagpur which was attended by Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis along with 25,000 people. Devendra Fadnavis, former chief minister of Maharashtra, targeted Shiv Sena at the event organised by BJP's Samvidhan Sanman Manch also organised pro-CAA rally in

Fake phone call campaign

Several BJP leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah had publicised a phone number, asking people to call the number as a way to show their support for the CAA. Many pro-BJP accounts on social media pretending to be of lonely and bored women, were seen sharing the same number and asking people to call, intending to inflate the number of supporters of CAA. The number was also shared on bogus posts offering free six-month subscriptions to the streaming site Netflix for free. Netflix called the offer as fake.

Fake videos

A video of ''Naga Sadhus'' celebrating at Kumbh Mela at Allahabad in March 2019 was shared and made Viral video, viral on social media, falsely claiming that this was the video of Hindus in the rally supporting CAA.

Fake news

During the protests, there were various instances when netizens, especially those supporting the BJP or working in the party, had spread various messages and posts on social media, intending to paint the anti-CAA protestors in bad light or influence political opinion.

Overseas

Members of the Indian-American community held a pro-CAA rally in front of the Indian Consulate in Houston on 20 December 2019. They also held other rallies at Victor Steinbrueck Park, Seattle and Texas State Capitol building in Austin, Texas, Austin on 22 December 2019. Rallies were also held at Ted Kaltenbach Park, Dublin, California, Dublin, Ohio and at Nash Square Park, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Petitions in Supreme Court

On 14 January, the

approached Supreme Court to challenge the CAA under section 131 of the constitution that provides Supreme Court the power to decide the disputes between the states and the Government of India. The Kerala government in its petition called the act "a violation of India's secular constitution" and accused the Indian government of dividing the country among religious lines. The Supreme Court had scheduled the hearing of CAA related petitions on 22 January. The students' association have called a complete shutdown of the colleges and university in the north-east, on 22 January, asking the court to declare CAA unconstitutional. On 22 January 144 CAA related petitions scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court of India were brought up. The

(CJI) Sharad A. Bobde had led the three judge bench in hearing the petitions. The court gave notice to the government on the petitions and allowed one month time to respond in the next hearing in February. K.V. Vishwanathan, a senior advocate addressed the court, stating "The most immediate concern now is the sweeping powers given to Executive (government), executive authorities to brand people as 'doubtful citizens'. Once this is done, there are no guidelines to help these people. This is sinister. It will lead to gerrymandering of electoral rolls. The concern is spread across both the majority Hindus and the minorities as well. You have to address this fear... Otherwise fear and insecurity will pervade the country." Reacting to the concerns the CJI stated that the laws like the CAA are not irreversible, and the court will hear the interim prayer for a stay on CAA at a future date in February. On 3 March, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), filed an application in the Supreme Court and asked to be made a party in the case citing "the exclusions of persons... on the basis of their religion". The OHCHR Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet said that the "differentiations" drawn by the Act are not "sufficiently objective and reasonable". However, the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External Affairs reacted to the move and said that the CAA is an "internal matter" of India and "no foreign party had any locus standi on issues pertaining to India's sovereignty".

References

External links

*
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
. ''The Gazette of India'' (2019). {{Citizenship Amendment Act protests Citizenship Amendment Act protests, 2019 protests 2019 riots 2020 protests 2020 riots December 2019 events in India Immigration to India Immigration-related protests January 2020 events in India Politics of India Protests in India Secularism in India Xenophobia in Asia

Background

Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

Response

Chronology

December 2019

January 2020

February 2020

March 2020

Resolutions

Resolutions against CAA

Protests

Assam

Tripura

Crackdown on Universities

Jamia Millia Islamia

Aligarh Muslim University

Nadwa College

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Delhi

North East Delhi riots

Shaheen Bagh

West Bengal

Punjab

Uttar Pradesh

Karnataka

Bangalore

Mangalore

Tamil Nadu

Gujarat

Kerala

Telangana

Bihar

Maharashtra

Pune

Nagpur

Other states and union territories

Overseas

Methods

Slogans and poems

Art

Government

Participants

Student organisations

Protesting

Pro-government

Casualties

Impact

Economy

Transport

Communication

Tourism

Reactions

Domestic

Return of Awards and Honours

International

Organisation

Human rights organisations

Pro-CAA demonstrations

Assam

West Bengal

Gujarat

Maharashtra

Fake phone call campaign

Fake videos

Fake news

Overseas

Petitions in Supreme Court

See also

References

External links