Normalcy returns to India’s northeast amid protests over new law
A sense of normalcy returns in the northeastern Indian city of Guwahati, two days after violent protests over a new citizenship law saw two demonstrators shot dead by police, even as all internet services remain blocked and restrictions continue to be imposed.
Protests against a divisive new citizenship law raged Saturday as Washington and London issued travel warnings for northeast India following days of violent clashes that have killed two people so far.
Many in the far-flung, resource-rich northeast fear the new legislation will grant citizenship to large numbers of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, who they accuse of stealing jobs and diluting the region's cultural identity.
Several thousand protesters rallied in the capital New Delhi on Saturday evening, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to revoke the law, some holding signs reading: "Stop Dividing India".
Protests turned violent in West Bengal state, a hotbed of political unrest, with at least 20 buses and parts of two railway stations set on fire as demonstrators blocked roads and set fire to tyres. No injuries were reported.
Tensions also simmered in Guwahati in Assam state, the epicentre of the unrest, where medical staff said two people were shot dead and 26 hospitalised late Thursday after security forces fired live rounds.
Anticipating further unrest, authorities extended an internet ban across Assam till Monday. Most shops were shut and anxious residents stocked up supplies Saturday when the curfew was relaxed during the day.
The Citizenship Amendment Act allows for the fast-tracking of applications from religious minorities including Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, but not Muslims.
(Source: AFP)
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