Protests Banned Across India After All Hell Breaks Loose
Tens of thousands of people in at least 15 cities across India Thursday defied a government ban on protests after violent demonstrations last week sent the country into chaos following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), reported Bloomberg.
CAA is a measure that the Modi government passed into law last Wednesday that allows amnesty to only non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The result of the controversial new citizenship law considered by many to be discriminatory against Muslims led to violent protest late last week and through the weekend.
Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Parsis from the three eligible countries can now receive citizenship if they have illegally entered India though Muslims from the same countries cannot.
The protest ban is a police order that prohibits more than four people from assembling. Still, tens of thousands of people ignored the government’s call to stand down and have been demonstrating this week, especially in regions of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Patna, Chandigarh, and Delhi.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in parts of India as authorities impose internet blackouts in an effort to end mass protests against a controversial citizenship law that has rocked the country for the past week https://reut.rs/34xlZUg
Telecom companies and internet service providers in high protest regions shut down data service this week, likely on government orders, to squash coordination efforts of organizers who were responsible for assembling thousands of people into the streets via social media.
While Thursday’s protests have been relatively calm – here’s what happened last weekend:
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