A divisive citizenship bill has been signed into law in India, a move that comes amid widespread protests in the country’s northeast.
Two people were killed and 11 injured on Thursday when police opened fire on mobs in Assam State torching buildings and attacking railway stations.
Protesters have said that the law would convert thousands of illegal immigrants into legal residents.
Photo: Reuters
The new law lays out a path of Indian citizenship for six minority religious groups from the neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday gave his assent to the bill, signing it into law, an official statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a meeting in Assam next week, as part of a campaign to move high-profile diplomatic events outside New Delhi to showcase India’s diversity.
A movement against immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh has raged in Assam for decades.
Protesters have said that granting Indian nationality to more people would further strain the resources of Assam and lead to the marginalization of indigenous communities.
Japan has stepped up infrastructure development work in Assam over the past few years, which the two sides are expected to highlight during the summit.
Abe plans to visit a memorial in the nearby state of Manipur, where Japanese soldiers were killed during World War II.
Critics of Modi’s Hindu nationalist government have said that the bigger problem with the new law is that it is the first time that India is using religion as a criterion for granting citizenship, and that it excludes Muslims from its scope.
The Indian Union Muslim League party has petitioned the Indian Supreme Court, saying that the law is in conflict with the secular principles of the Indian constitution, which guarantees equality to all, without any regard to religion. No date has been set for the hearings.
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