Police have arrested thousand of people in several places within the nation’s big cities as rallies continue a week on against what campaigners have called a “bigoted” new law.
While protesters rage is still boiling due to the citizenship bill introduced by government, three people have died in India during protests, as more than 1,200 people have been detained for defying bans on demonstrations.
Police have arrested thousand of people in several places within the nation’s big cities as rallies continue a week on against what campaigners have called a “bigoted” new law.
Police have been accused of using excessive force as they try to clamp down on the protests.
The Citizenship Amendment Act entitles non-Muslims who are in the country illegally, to citizenship if they can prove they face religious persecution in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It applies to Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities, but not Muslims.
Protesters say it is anti-Muslim, may cause mass migration and is an attempt by Prime Minister Narenda Modi to make India a Hindu stronghold. Mr Modi however says it is a humanitarian gesture.
In an attempt to stop protests, a ban against large assemblies was rolled out across the country. More than 1,200 people have been arrested in New Delhi.
Police say all the protesters were released later on Thursday.
Speaking with our correspondent in India,the executive director of Amnesty India,Avinash Kumar, said: “The Citizenship Amendment Act is a bigoted law that legitimizes discrimination on the basis of religion.
“The people of the country have the right to protest against this law peacefully and express their views… [however] governments are clamping down on protesters by using repressive laws.”
Roadblocks and placards have been put up in the nooks and crannies of the big states, and the internet and phone lines have been deliberately disrupted by the authorities in a broad trips of the country, including in the capital, New Delhi.
While curfew was rolled out in areas of Mangalore, a city in southern Karnataka state. Police in the region fired warning shots, used tear gas and batons against protesters.
