Since the passing of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, there has been a domino effect on the protests that flared up in North-East India. Moreover, meta-protests condemning the police atrocities at Jamia and flagrant use of power by the government to subdue dissent engulfed the entire nation. It must be noted that the root causes of some protests are different. Chaos is a ladder and therefore a call for peace must come.
Crux of the Matter
Why does Assam fear CAA? A fundamental conflict between the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and Assam Accord has made Assam the epicentre of escalating violent protests. The protests of Assam and Tripura are different as there are some areas that are not covered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which lays down provisions for protecting the identity of the indigenous North-Eastern people. Inner Line Permit (ILP) marks the areas protected under the Sixth Schedule. In other states of North-Eastern India, the ILP covers almost all the area. CAA explicitly mentions that it would exclude the tribal areas of North-Eastern state which fall under the Sixth Schedule of the constitution and under the ILP. Despite that, in the state of Assam, only 7 districts will be covered out of 33, meaning 26 districts, most of which have significant Bengali speaking people, fear that their cultural, social, linguistic, and heritage identity, signified in the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, will be challenged if any illegal migrant, irrespective of religion, is allowed Citizenship under the recent Act. The anti-immigrant sentiment of the indigenous Assamese and Tripuri people was taken to the front by students and social activists. In Tripura some sections of the society feel that elite Bengali Hindu migrants are posing a threat to the culture of the state by dominating religious, political, and social spheres, marginalizing the tribal and indigenous population of the state. Protests in Assam and North-Eastern India were led by student unions and activists. There were some incidents arson during the protests – lighting up public property, old tyres, wooden logs, and vehicles. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells to counter violent mobs. Coupling the outrage of protestors in Assam was the tiring and haunting reminiscence of undergoing National Register of Citizens. Recently, Assam has proposed a land law to protect the interests of the indigenous by allowing only indigenous Assamese people to sell their land to other indigenous people of Assam only, leaving a room for the development of the Assam scenario in conjunction with the CAA and NRC. Protests in West Bengal – a Feast for Vote Bank West Bengal has a porous border with Bangladesh and has seen a constant stream of illegal migrants, with peaks during 1947 and 1971. Many of the illegal immigrants who are Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh are apprehensive about what will happen if CAA is followed by implementation of NRC. Vote bank politics has been an integral part of elections in West Bengal. Election results of as many as 80 constituencies of the state are believed to have been swayed by the influence of refugee voters in the past. The protests in West Bengal can be characterized in a very different way. Most of the damage done to the public property belonged to the Central Government. Whether or not this feast for crows is a build-up for the upcoming state elections, the idea of violent protest has kindled fear among the citizenry. Protests in Delhi, Rise of Meta Protests Protests against CAA were held in various parts of the national capital. However, the protest at Jamia Millia University became sour and police used undue force on the protestors that also included students of JMI. No one has yet been identified for initiating the violence during the protest. Police reportedly entered the university premises and used undue force to manhandle students and fire tear gas shells inside a library. Allegedly, some protestors hurled petrol bombs and stones at Delhi Police. During the chaos at Jamia, buses and police vehicles were set ablaze. Protests and police reprisals turning violent at Jamia gave rise to the meta protests against the brutality of police on students. Various universities of India protested to show solidarity with the students of Jamia. Few days later, Delhi’s Seelampur region witnessed defiance of Section 144 as hundreds of protestors carried out a march from Seelampur to Jafrabad. This protest turned violent, especially at Seelampur which saw massive stone-pelting and the throwing of crude homemade bombs. Police again resorted to tear gas bombing and baton charge to disperse the stone-pelting crowd. Some of the protests in the capital were hijacked by communal and allegedly Naxal elements from various political parties. Domino-effect of Meta Protests A volcano of meta protests erupted across the country, condemning: 1. Undue force used by the police. 2. Flagrant use of Section 144, Internet and Mobile services shutdown by the local and central government. The ringing of the division bell had begun by then and the meta protests by universities across India for both the causes began. Several social activists, scholars, and prominent people of India came out to protest the authoritarian behaviour of the government and got detained. Aligarh Muslim University and Banaras Hindu University students also staged a protest against the police violence at Jamia. Allegedly, police had entered into the campus of AMU and beaten up protestors, mostly students. Internet shutdown was immediately imposed. Several days later, hundreds of protestors again emerged outside AMU to criticize police atrocities and CAA. Punjab, Kerala and Other States also Join the Denial of CAA. Following the protests in West Bengal, other non-BJP-led states like Punjab and Kerala hailed CAA as unconstitutional and anti-people. Shiromani Akali Dal of Punjab turned its back on the government by criticizing the CAA on the grounds that “disenfranchising Muslims of India, who have lived here for more than 3 decades now, would be a futile attempt”. Among several protests that broke out in Kerala, a ‘long march’ was organized by Students’ Federation of India to condemn the police brutality at Jamia and to oppose the implementation of CAA. Ahmedabad Stands in Solidarity with Jamia Protest against police action at Jamia was also called in Ahmedabad. The initial protest outside IIM-A was denied police permission and several prominent people were detained. They were allowed permission to protest outside Sabarmati Ashram the following day. However, another protest near Lal Darwaja of Ahmedabad turned violent. Protestors hurled stones and bricks at policemen and their vehicles. Police, in order to disperse the violent mob, resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas. Apart from the Old Part of the Ahmedabad City, other parts of Gujarat like Vadodara, Palanpur, Chhapi, Gir Somnath, Godhra, Wankaner, etc. witnessed rallies in protest of CAA. Section 144 was imposed in selected regions to avoid transmission of fake news and provocative messages. Bengaluru Sweeps In Bengaluru and various parts of Karnataka also witnessed the eruption of students and activists protesting against the police atrocities at Jamia and AMU and against the unconstitutionality of CAA. Prominent people including Ramchandra Guha were detained. Section 144 was imposed in Mysore, Bengaluru, Bellary, Udupi, etc. Mobile services were suspended in the Dakshina Kannada. In Mangaluru, two people were reported to have died due to bullets fired by police, who also shelled tear gas bombs and charged with baton to disperse the protestors. Uttar Pradesh Cut-off and Burning Several parts of Uttar Pradesh like Lucknow, Firozabad, Farrukhabad, Bhadohi, Gorakhpur, Bahraich, Sambhal, Kanpur, Meerut, Varanasi, etc. witnessed violent protests. Government has imposed curfew in most of the regions of Uttar Pradesh. Violence escalated to a stage in UP that it reported death of around 18 people and several injured. Hundreds of them have been detained or arrested. UP CM Yogi Adityanath had issued a warning that property of the violent protestors will be seized by the state. Some police reports alleged that most of the bullet-injured protestors were not hit by bullets of police but rather by bullets fired from local guns. Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan also witnessed scattered incidents of protests against CAA. At several places, Section 144 was imposed to curb the violence. Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena and DMK have been vocal about the exclusion of illegal migrants from Sri Lanka in the CAA. The assemblage of protestors at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan was a notable one. Thousands, including Bollywood celebrities, activists and students, conducted a peaceful protest against CAA and Mumbai Police was hailed for maintaining law and order. Pro-CAA Marches Marches welcoming the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 were held at various places like Delhi, Bengaluru, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Banaras Hindu University, etc. At some places, allegations are that pro-CAA marches and gatherings were given police permission but anti-CAA were denied. Sanity Calls for Peace Violent protests across India have subdued. Call for peace and dialogue has caught some people attention. Several images and incidents speaking loudly about peace became viral on social media. A protesting girl handing a flower to a policeman, a Muslim cop asking a protestor to not mislead the youth and follow the law, a Bengaluru cop singing Vande Mataram, indicating that all of us belong to the same nation, an IPS officer trying to calm the crowd through asking questions on CAA and asking them not indulge in violence, have become symbols of unity and peace.
Curiopedia
Student Protests in India – Be it political unrest or social, students of India have taken an active part in displaying their concern. First student protests can be traced back to undivided India – in 1905 when students of Kolkata’s Eden College protested the partition of Bengal. In 1920, students of Lahore’s Edward Medical College protested against racism in academic institutions. Tamil Nadu’s students, in 1965, carried out the Anti-Hindi Movement. Gujarat’s Nav Nirman Andolan culminated into the dissolution of the government. Bihar’s JP Movement aimed at curbing corruption and nepotism in educational institutes. Student protests during the emergency of 1975, Assam Agitation, Anti-Mandal Agitation, Anti-Reservation Protests, FTII Agitation, Jadavpur university’s student protests, Student protest over Rohit Vermula’s death, JNU Protests, etc. are some of the other student protests that have impacted the history of India. More Info
Curated Coverage
Indian Express – Explained: Why Assam is unhappy with the Citizenship Amendment Bill
Livemint – Citizenship Act protest turns violent in Seelampur, reinforcements called in
Indian Express – CAA protests: Lathicharge in Ahmedabad, partial shutdown in Vadodara
IndiaTV News – Kerala, Punjab join West Bengal; refuse to implement Citizenship Bill
Business Today – Anti-CAA protests: Two killed in police firing in Mangaluru; curfew imposed
The Hindu – Anti-CAA protests: At least 11 killed in Uttar Pradesh violence, say officials
The News Minute – Pro CAA Protest Held Bengaluru Permission Denied Anti-CAA Sathyagraha
Comments