Indian president Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it into a law. Kovind gave his approval to the law that promises citizenship to migrants from three neighbouring countries but not if they are Muslims, on Thursday, reports Indian media outlet NDTV.
The law will come into effect with its publication in the official gazette on Thursday, according to an official notification. The law that has sparked massive protests in India, provisions for members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there, to not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.
On Wednesday, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed by the upper house, Rajya Sabha on and by the Lok Sabha on Monday. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's BJP government claimed that the new law was meant to protect minorities who faced persecution in the neighbouring countries.
The bill has triggered massive protests in the northeast. Violent mobs in Assam torched buildings and clashed with police on Thursday, leaving at least two dead, NDTV reports. A curfew was also to be imposed in parts of the capital city of the neighbouring state of Meghalaya because of fears of the law and order situation deteriorating.
The protesters in Assam, which share a border with Bangladesh, say the measure would open the region to a flood of foreign migrants. The bill also drew flak from opposition parties who maintain that the new law undermined India's secular constitution by not offering protection to Muslims.
Modi urged calm and said the people of Assam had nothing to fear. I want to assure them - no-one can take away your rights, unique identity and beautiful culture. It will continue to flourish and grow, he tweeted.
The government has said the new law will be followed by a National Register of Citizens that means Muslims must prove they were original residents of India and not refugees from these three countries. Members of other faiths listed in the law, by contrast, have a clear path to citizenship.
