[Thousands chant ‘long live Assam’ during
unrest sparked by MPs’ approval of a law that excludes Muslims]
By Agence France-Presse
 |
|
A man runs past a burning
bus that was set on fire by demonstrators during a protest
against a new citizenship law, in
Delhi, India. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
|
The death toll from bloody clashes sparked by
contentious citizenship law has risen to six as protesters in north-east India
vowed to continue demonstrations.
Tensions remained high at the epicentre of
the unrest in Assam state’s biggest city, Guwahati, with troops patrolling the
streets on Sunday.
In Assam, four people died after being shot
by police, while another was killed when a shop he was sleeping in was set on
fire and a sixth after he was beaten up during a protest, officials said.
Some 5,000 people took part in a fresh
demonstration on Sunday in Guwahati, with hundreds of police watching as they
sang, chanted and carried banners with the words “long live Assam”.
The legislation, passed by parliament on
Wednesday, allows Delhi to grant citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants
who entered India from three neighbouring countries on or before 31 December
2014 – but not if they are Muslim.
Besides stoking concern among Muslims, the
proposed changes have also led to protests by residents unhappy about an influx
of Hindus from Bangladesh, who stand to gain citizenship.
“Assam will continue to protest. India is a
democracy and the government has to listen to us,” said Karan Mili, a colleague
of one of the victims, 25-year-old Iswor Nayak, who died on Sunday.
“We don’t want violence but protests will
continue ... Assamese will not stop until government revokes the law,” another
demonstrator, Pratima Sharma, said.
Officials said oil and gas production in the
state were hit by the curfew, although the restrictions were eased during the
day on Sunday with some shops opening.
In West Bengal state, where protests
stretched into a third day, chief minister Mamata Banerjee – who has spoken out
against the national government’s push for the law – suspended internet service
in several districts.
Demonstrators set fire to tyres, staged
sit-ins on highways and railway tracks, and torched trains and buses, with riot
police brought in to disperse protesters and train services suspended in some
parts of the east.
In India’s capital, several buses were set on
fire and video posted on social media appeared to show police firing tear gas
at protesters.
Some 35 people injured in the clashes were
taken to hospital, the Press Trust of India reported, while authorities said
schools in the area would be closed on Monday.
Police also entered Delhi’s Jamia Millia
Islamia university after the clashes to detain some people, although the
institution said its students did not take part in the violence.
The prime minister, Narendra Modi, blamed the
opposition Congress party for the unrest. “To give respect to those who fled to
India and were forced to live as refugees, both houses of parliament passed the
citizenship amendment bill,” he said at a rally in eastern Jharkhand state.
“Congress and its allies are stoking fire
over the Citizenship Act but the people of the north-east have rejected
violence ... They (Congress supporters) are resorting to arson because they did
not get their way.”
The home minister, Amit Shah, called again
for calm. “Culture, language, social identity and political rights of our
brothers and sisters from the northeast will remain intact,” News18 television
network reported him as saying.
For Islamic groups, the opposition, rights
activists and others in India, the new law is seen as part of Modi’s Hindu
nationalist agenda to marginalise India’s 200 million Muslims. He denies the
allegation.
Rights groups and a Muslim political party
are challenging the law in the supreme court, arguing that it is against the
constitution and India’s secular traditions.
Asom Gana Parishad – an ally of Modi’s
Bharatiya Janata party in Assam which had supported the bill in parliament –
told local media it now intended to challenge the law in the supreme court.
