- Title: 'We are not going to stop' : protesters on India's citizenship law
- Date: 26th December 2019
- Summary: BENGALURU, KARNATAKA, INDIA (DECEMBER 26, 2019) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF WOMEN HOLDING PLACARDS AND PROTESTING INDIA'S NEW CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT LAW VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS CHANTING SLOGANS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROTESTER, MANGALA, SAYING: "It seems like they are trying to pretend that they are not hearing us, but they will hear us. We are not going to stop today, we are not going to stop tomorrow, we are going to stop when these acts are repealed. We are going to stop when they hear us, when they actually look at us and tell us that we heard you, when they actually take an action that is acceptable to us, only then will we stop." LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (DECEMBER 26, 2019) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) (HD) (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, LAW AND ORDER, LUCKNOW, P. V. RAMASHASTRI, SAYING: "We are alert. We are fully capable of controlling any kind of violence or if anyone tries to participate in violent activities or tries to breach the law and order situation. We are continuously briefing the forces and we are fully prepared." KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA (DECEMBER 26, 2019) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) (HD) CHIEF OF INDIA'S EASTERN WEST BENGAL STATE, MAMATA BANERJEE MARCHING ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS PROTEST MARCH UNDERWAY BANERJEE WALKING ALONG WITH A CROWD OF PROTESTERS PROTESTERS CLEARING THE WAY FOR BANERJEE BANERJEE ADDRESSING THE CROWD CROWD OF PROTESTERS LISTENING TO BANERJEE
- Embargoed: 9th January 2020 16:22
- Keywords: Citizenship Amendment Act India Lucknow Muslims baton charging clash police protest stone pelting violence
- Location: LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH/BENGALURU, KARNATAKA/ KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA
- City: LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH/BENGALURU, KARNATAKA/ KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001BBM4GUF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hundreds of women in India's IT hub of Bengaluru city took to the streets on Thursday (December 26) saying they will not stop until the government repeals a controversial citizenship law that has angered the country.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to fast-track citizenship for persecuted Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Outrage at the citizenship law has been fanned by resentment against the government for following a majoritarian agenda instead of addressing an economic slowdown and loss of jobs.
In a nation with a history pocked with sectarian bloodshed, many Muslims fear the new law - and a planned national citizenship register - could make the minority second-class citizens.
Students, politicians and rights activists, both Hindus and Muslims, have also taken to the streets, saying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is jeopardizing India's secular constitution.
The government denies the citizenship register is imminent and says none of the changes will affect existing citizens.
The head of India's eastern West Bengal state Mamata Banerjee also held a massive march against the law in Kolkata city.
India's northern Uttar Pradesh state is demanding millions of rupees from over 200 people and threatening to confiscate their property as a penalty for damage done to public property during protests.
Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, has suffered some of the most violent protests against India's Citizenship Amendment Act.
When Modi, a veteran politician and son of a tea seller, came to power five-and-a-half years ago, he promised growth, jobs and development. But he was criticized for haphazard tax reform and shock demonetisation of high value currency notes in his first term - which contributed to an economic slowdown - as well as intolerance for dissent and ignoring anti-Muslim hate crimes.
Nevertheless, he was re-elected with an even stronger majority earlier this year after a strong response to a security standoff with old foe Pakistan.
In August, Modi's government withdrew semi-autonomous privileges for Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded it to a federally-ruled territory.
In November, the Supreme Court ruled that a Hindu temple could be built at a site where a right-wing mob tore down a 16th-century mosque in 1992, one of India's most divisive disputes. The government welcomed the decision.
Then came the citizenship law.
The protests have posed the biggest challenge to Modi since he took office in 2014.
(Production: Chiara Rodriquez) - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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