3 killed in Violent Protests in Assam
Violent protests have erupted all over Assam and many parts of the northeast due to passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Watch the video for a detailed explanation about why the Assamese people
The people of Assam are not at all happy that The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha. Late last night, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his approval to make CAB a law.Due to this, there have been violent protests and 3 people have died. Assam CM’s house was pelted with stones, an MLA’s house was set on fire panchayat level officers gave their resignation and hundreds of protestors gathered outside the Guwahati High Court and were aggressively protesting. All trains to Assam & Tripura have been stopped, Flights have been stopped as well. ISL Football Game & the Ranji Trophy cricket match was also cancelled.Due to the protests, the Army imposed an indefinite curfew in Guwahati. But the locals of the Guwahati broke the curfew and hundreds of local people run out on the streets to protest.The police open fired at the people and three men were killed. All communication services such as the internet, telephone, mobiles, etc have been stopped in Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. The army in J&K was airlifted and sent to Assam. A Congress minister said that what is happening in the North-East of India is the same as J&K.
Why is Assam Protesting?
The people of Assam are aggressively protesting the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). 3 people have died till now in the protests. Why is Assam protesting? How does the CAB affect them? First let me clearly tell you about the CAB. CAB will give Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. They will only be given citizenship if they arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.CAB applies to all of India. Except two areas. 1. Inner Line Permit (ILP) 2. Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
Inner Line Permit (ILP)
The Inner Line Permit (ILP) are states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland Manipur. In these states the CAB law will not be applied. If any immigrant wants to stay in any of these states they need an ILP card. Depending on the time mentioned in the card, the immigrant can stay in these areas.
Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
The Sixth Schedule gives Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) the power to make decisions regarding citizenship on their own in order to help uplift tribal communities.Under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, Assam only has three Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) Meanwhile, Tripura has one ADC, covering its hilly tribal areas.The Northeast is a culturally sensitive area, home to many small tribes, with their own traditions, languages, etc. For years, the region has complained if illegal Bangladeshi immigrants settling in. In Assam, since many Bengali Bangladeshis would illegal enter and stay in Assam, now the Barak valley has a majority of Bengalis living there.
During the 1979 Lok Sabha elections, people noticed a sudden rise in the number of voters in the Mangaldoi constituency. This was because Mangaldoi area had a huge number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Because of this, locals of Assams started protesting against foreigners. There continuous protests for 6 years in which more than 885 Assamese people died.Because of this the leaders of the protest & the Congress signed the Assam Accord in 1985.
The Assam Accord said that, those who entered Assam between January 1, 1966-March 24, 1971, would be allowed to stay in Assam. But those who entered Assam after March 24, 1971, would be found and sent back to their country. To be a part of the NRC and to stay in Assam, people have to prove that they are related to those who came to Assam between 1st January 1966 - 24th March 1971. Since many could not prove it, 19 lakh people were not included in the NRC and were not given Indian Citizenship. These people were majorly Hindu immigrants.
However now because of CAB, these "immigrants" can apply for Indian citizenship and remain in Assam.This is because CAB allows illegal immigrants of six faiths (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian) to obtain Indian citizenship, if they arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.However, the Assam Accord says that those who entered the state after 1971 should be deported.This is why Assam is protesting because the government has not followed the Assam Accord and imposed the CAB in Assam.
