Shortly after the parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 11, Assam’s Barak Valley which is a predominantly Hindu-Bengali region has whole-heartedly welcomed the passage of the controversial bill by saying that the ‘legislation will rectify the wrongs to the state’s Hindu-Bengali community.’
Crux of the Matter
Bengali- dominated districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hilakandi where the Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh reside are completely peaceful and support the bill. This is in contrast to the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam, where violent protests have disrupted the day to day life.
Barak Valley citizens gathered at the Shahid Minar and lit candles in support of the Bill. They believe that the bill was a national promise that persecuted population gets citizenship.
Post-1971 Partition, a sizeable Bengali-Hindu population migrated to the Barak Valley to escape religious persecution in Bangladesh.
Senior BJP leader Kabindra Purkayashtha said, “I am confident that now the problem of citizenship for Bengali Hindus will be sorted out.”
At the same time, indefinite curfew was imposed in Guwahati and mobile internet services were suspended in 10 districts of Assam.
Curiopedia
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is a bill amending the Citizenship Act of 1955 to give a path to Indian citizenship to illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. It also seeks to relax the requirement of residence in India for citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to 5 years for these migrants. The Union Cabinet cleared the Bill on 4 December 2019. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on 10 December 2019 and, subsequently, in the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019. More Info
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