New Delhi: Protests have erupted once again across the Northeast to demonstrate opposition to the Narendra Modi government’s reported preparation to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, on religious lines in the ongoing winter session.

The amendment is aimed at granting Indian citizenship to six religious groups – Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs and Christians – belonging to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan on grounds of persecution in their home countries.

Though the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) was passed in the Lok Sabha’s previous term, it was stalled in the Rajya Sabha. Northeastern states, beginning with Assam, registered massive protests then as the amendment would have facilitated granting Indian citizenship to ‘illegal immigrants’ from neighbouring Bangladesh. The amendment would have also made the Assam Accord of 1985 infructuous. The accord mandates the state to detect and deport those staying from the neighbouring country without proper documents beyond March 24, 1971. The amendment also seeks to segregate undocumented immigrants on the basis of religion.

With news circulating about the government’s plan to reintroduce the Bill in the winter session, demonstrations were witnessed in all the seven state capitals at the call of the North East Students Organisation (NESO) on November 19, coinciding with the commencement of the session. Hundreds of protestors were seen holding banners opposing the Modi government’s attempt to bring the Bill back to parliament in the ongoing session.

In Guwahati, All Assam Students Union (AASU) top leaders, Samujjal Bhattacharjee, Lurinjyoti Gogoi and Dipnka Kumar Nath led a procession with banners that said, “Implement Assam Accord”, “We oppose the communal Bill”, “We will not accept CAB”.

Asked about a recent comment made by the state’s finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that the Bill would grant ‘protection’ to the Assamese community and ‘solve’ Assam’s problem – by which the BJP leader had hinted at the need for a religious-political axis to counter the Muslims of the state, Bhattacharjee said, “The Bill will safeguard the vote bank of BJP. They (BJP) want the votes of illegal Bangladeshis. They have the number in Delhi (parliament) and they will impose the CAB on us.”

The AASU leaders marched to the Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to the prime minister through the state’s governor.

Protesting against the Bill, the Assam Jayiotabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad also burnt effigies of both Modi and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati. Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, among other organisations, held demonstrations against the Bill too.

Protests in other states

In Manipur, a sit-in protest led by All Manipur Students’ Union was held in Imphal. In Arunachal, it was the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union which led the students in Itanagar. Manipur also witnessed an 18-hour bandh which ended on the evening of November 19, brining life to a grinding halt.

In Nagaland, the demonstrations were spearheaded by the Naga Students’ Federation. The North East Forum for Indigenous People also called for an 18-hour bandh in the state until Wednesday afternoon, which hit normal life.

While the Mizo Zirlai Pawl led the march in Aizawl, it was the Khasi Students’ Union and the Garo Students’ Union in Meghalaya that protested the Centre’s reported attempt to introduce and pass the Bill in the Parliament. The Twipra Students’ Federation registered its protests in Agartala against the CAB. In each state, the protestors marched to the respective governor’s house to submit a memorandum to the prime minister.

“Our social structure, our history and our cultural values are unknown to the rest of the country. The Bill is the latest example that the law-makers of the country have no regard for the future of the indigenous peoples of the North-east,” the NESO statement said. “The North-east is not a dumping ground for illegal Bangladeshis and to us a foreigner is a foreigner irrespective to his religion,” it added.

Border fencing

Fencing of the long border with Bangladesh has been a demand of various students’ bodies and civil society groups across the region. On Wednesday, responding to a question by BJP MP from Tripura, Pratima Bhoumik, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai told parliament, “Out of 1880 km, approximately 1477 km has been covered by fencing.”

Rai told the Lok Sabha, in a written reply, “The remaining approximate 403 km will be covered by technological solutions (approx. 62 km) and physical fencing (approx. 341 km). The fencing work could not be completed due to difficult terrain, short working season, land acquisition problem, public protests and objections by Border Guard Bangladesh.”

Fencing the India-Bangladesh border was one of the terms of the Assam Accord. Yet another clause said “constitutional safeguards” would be provided to “Assamese people” to preserve and promote their cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage. Early this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs set up a ‘high powered committee” to look into the implementation of the clause. On Wednesday, in a written response to a question by Congress MP from Assam, Abdul Khaleque, minister of state for home G. Kishan Reddy told the Lok Sabha, “As on date, there is no consensus on the definition of the term ‘Assamese people’.”

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Though the Centre is tightlipped about introducing the contentious Bill in this session of parliament, BJP Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, a member of the joint parliamentary committee on the CAB, has reportedly said that the government is looking at introducing it towards the end of the session. “The government is working on the Bill and may hold a few consultations with the northeastern states given the opposition to the Bill in the region.”

The session is to end on December 13.

On November 18, a delegation of MPs from the northeastern states, barring Assam, met home minister Amit Shah on the issue. A senior BJP MP who was part of the delegation told the Assam Tribune that they were assured that the “CAB will not be applicable in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram which have inner line permit systems.” The MP reportedly said that in the case of Assam, “the Centre is considering several options”.

PTI reported on November 18 that the Bill would have “a few new provisions” including defining the term “illegal immigrants”. The BJP has promised during both its 2014 and 2019 campaigns that the Bill would be passed.