India deploys troops to curb violent protests over citizenship law

India moved thousands of troops into Assam on Thursday after violent protests overnight against a new law that would make it easier for non-Muslim minorities from some neighbouring countries to seek Indian citizenship.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has said the so-called Citizenship Amendment Bill that was approved by parliament on Wednesday was meant to protect besieged minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Critics say it undermines the country’s secular constitution by not offering protection to Muslims while others argue it will open India’s northern states to a flood of foreigners.

Resistance to the bill has been the strongest in the tea-growing Assam state, where a movement against illegal immigrants from its neighbouring Bangladesh has simmered for decades.

Via Reuters

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