Thousands protest citizenship bill in India’s Assam

GUWAHATI, India: Thousands in northeastern India protested Monday against a proposal to grant citizenship to religious minorities in the region, except Muslims, with critics attacking the bill as prejudiced and a sop to Hindus before elections.

Protesters burned copies of the legislation in angry marches across Assam state, where millions have settled in recent decades after fleeing neighbouring Muslim-majority nations.

The controversial bill would grant citizenship to select groups, including Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, but not Muslims, who have moved from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and lived in India for at least six years. The proposal has been hotly contested in Assam, a hilly state that has witnessed violence between settlers and indigenous groups, who say they have lost land and jobs to the newer entrants. "This is just the first phase of our agitation," said Palash Changmai, the general secretary of a student organisation that participated in a march.