This archive report was first published on 16 December 2019.
Published on December 16, 2019, protests have been raging across India over a new citizenship law that critics claim is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda to marginalise Muslims.
The law fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from three neighbouring countries, but many Indians, including those in the country's northeast, are opposed to it, fearing their culture is threatened by Bengali-speaking Hindus.
Prime Minister Modi insists he is not anti-Muslim, saying the citizenship law is '1,000 per cent correct' and that Muslims from the three countries are not covered because they have no need of India's protection.
However, Rahul Gandhi, former opposition Congress chief, has described the law as 'weapons of mass polarisation unleashed by fascists', while the UN human rights office has expressed concern that the law 'would appear to undermine the commitment to equality before the law enshrined in India's constitution'.
Protests have taken place in major cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and Lucknow, with hundreds of students, mostly Muslims, trying to storm police stations and hurling stones at officers.
Internet access has been suspended in several areas, including West Bengal's capital, Kolkata, where thousands gathered for a major demonstration called by state premier Mamata Banerjee, a firebrand opponent of Modi.
The new law is being challenged in the Supreme Court by rights groups and a Muslim political party, arguing that it is against the constitution and India's cherished secular traditions.
