- Title: Clashes erupt in Indian capital over citizenship law
- Date: 17th December 2019
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (DECEMBER 17, 2019) (REUTERS) POLICEMEN AND PROTESTERS THROWING STONES AT EACH OTHER VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN FIRING TEAR GAS SHELL POLICEMEN STANDING AS SOME WALK SMOKE RISING/TEAR GAS SHELL BEING FIRED POLICEMEN STANDING/TEAR GAS SHELL BEING FIRED/POLICEMEN WALKING
- Embargoed: 31st December 2019 11:13
- Keywords: Citizenship Amendment Act India Narendra Modi New Delhi clash police protest tear gas violence
- Location: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- City: NEW DELHI, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA002BAD5OI7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Clashes erupted in New Delhi on Tuesday (December 17) between thousands of protesters and police, the latest violence in a week of opposition to a new law that blocks Muslims from neighboring countries gaining citizenship.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government says the new law will save religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians from persecution in neighboring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by offering them a path to Indian citizenship.
But the law does not apply to Muslims, which critics say weakens India's secular foundations.
Police fired tear gas in the New Seelampur part of the capital to push back protesters swarming to barricades and throwing stones.
Cars were damaged and roads strewn with rocks while small fires on the road sent smoke into the air.
There have been growing questions about the stance of the government, led by Modi's Hindu-nationalist party, towards India's Muslims, who make up 14 percent of the population.
The citizenship law follows the revocation of the special status of the Muslim-majority Kashmir region, and a court ruling clearing the way for the construction of a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque razed by Hindu zealots.
Anger with the government was stoked this week by allegations of police brutality at Jamia Millia Islamia University on Sunday (December 15), when officers entered the campus and fired tear gas to break up a protest. At least 100 people were wounded. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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