Abdurrahman Aman | India Tomorrow
GUWAHATI, DECEMBER 11—Indefinite curfew was clamped on Guwahati city on Wednesday evening following widespread protest and violence against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which has been passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Army staged a flag march in Dibrugarh which witnessed the maximum protest from public against the controversial Bill.
Lakhs of people took out rallies and held protest marches in Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh as well even as the Bill was being discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The curfew that was imposed at 6 pm, would continue for an indefinite period.
Internet services were discontinued at 7 pm from the entire Brahmaputra valley that comprise the districts inhabited mostly by native Assamese.
Authorities took the action to check further spread of violence as the protest and violence is mostly confined to Assamese dominated areas. However, internet services are still available in Barak Valley with majority Bengali population.
Protesters burnt two government buses in Dispur, set afire a police outpost and a shop as well.
As protesters burnt tyres in each and every street of Guwahati on Wednesday, it gave the look as if entire city was on fire.
Protesters also clashed with police at several places in Guwahati. The police had to burst teargas shells, resort to air firing and rubber bullet firing to disperse the mob.
As the protest spread to rural areas, residents of 15 villages blocked the roads to Digboi oifelds.
People also blocked the railway tracks in several parts of the state as a part of their protest to the controversial Bill.
Lakhs of people came out come out of their houses in all major cities and towns of Assam and blocked all the major roads and highways, with police resorting to firing of rubber bullets and bursting tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters. Many protesters, besides, journalists covering the protest in Bongaon in Dibrugarh district, are reported to have been injured.
Why Are People From Assam and North-East States Opposing the Bill?
The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday and will be tabled for discussion in Rajya Sabha today. The Bill grants citizenship rights to all non-Muslims including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who migrated to India due to religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. People in Assam and other North-East states are opposing it because these states have a large number of migrants from Bangladesh and they fear that Bangladeshis would settle down permanently in their states after they get citizenship and this would adversely affect their identity and culture.
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Fresh protests on Wednesday were also reported from Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh against the Bill. Thousands of people took out rallies in different towns of Tripura and the biggest protest was witnessed in Agartala. ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) leaders are also reported to have participated in the rallies in Tripura. Meanwhile, internet services continue to be banned in Arunachal Pradesh, it is still working in Assam.
Among the protesters in Assam include men, women and children, shouting slogans against Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, describing them as “gaddar”(traitors), raising slogans of “Joi Aai Axom”(Glory to Mother Assam). The protesters say CAB is an attack on Assamese “identity and culture”.
They also burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The most affected districts were Guwahati, Jorhat and Dibrugarh.
The biggest protest, however, was witnessed in Jorhat where lakhs of people have come out in the city and almost all the villages to condemn the Bill.
Many protesters, including student leaders of the prestigious Cotton University, who have been opposing the CAB since the BJP government began the move to bring the law, were detained by the police.
All the colleges, including in Guwahati were closed on Wednesday, with students taking part in the protest. Students of the Cotton University declared to continue their agitation until the CAB was withdrawn.
All the major roads and highways all over the state were blocked by agitators against the Bill. National Highway No. 37 were blocked by people by burning tyres on the highway. Police resorted to lathi-charge on protesters blocking GS Road flyover in Guwahati, with protesters clashing with the police.
The protest is spontaneous with no political party or any other group giving a call for it though all political parties excepting BJP, Bodoland Peoples’ Front(BPF) and a faction of Asam Gana Parishad(AGP) opposing the Bill. AGP office-bearers in many districts are reported to have resigned from the party over AGP’s support to the Bill.
Protesters also sat on the railway tracks at Lahowal under Dibrugarh district to block the movement of trains.
Reports reaching Guwahati say that people have come out in almost all the villages and demonstrating on roads, raising slogans against the Bill and the Central and State Governments.
