After the bill was approved on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in
Guwahati, and other areas in the state.
Bangalore,
Ahmedabad,
Hyderabad,
Jaipur,
Kolkata and
Mumbai. Reactionary protests were also held at universities across the country including
Cotton University,
Gauhati University,
IIT Bombay,
Madras University,
Presidency University, Kolkata,
Jamia Millia Islamia,
Osmania University,
University of Hyderabad,
University of Delhi,
Panjab University and
Aligarh Muslim University. By 16 December, the protests had spread across India with demonstrations occurring in at least 17 cities including
Chennai,
Jaipur,
Bhopal,
Lucknow and
Puducherry. Between 16 and 18 December, a statement of solidarity "condemning the recent police action and brutalization of students at Jamia Millia University and Aligarh Muslim University" had acquired 10,293 signatories from over 1,100 universities, colleges and academic institutions across the world. Scholars from major academic institutions in India, including
JNU,
Delhi University, all the
Indian Institutes of Technology, the
Indian Statistical Institute, the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, among many others had signed the solidarity statement. On 19 December police banned protests in several parts of India with the imposition of
Section 144 which prohibits the gathering of more than 4 individuals in a public space as being unlawful, namely, parts of the capital
New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and
Karnataka, including Bangalore. As Section 144 was imposed, the students of
IIM-Bangalore demonstrate their protest peacefully by laying shoes and placards in front of the institute gate, which they called the Shoe
Satyagraha. Following IIM-Ahmedabad and Bangalore,
IIM-Calcutta raised their voice peacefully in solidarity against the Act and the brutal misconduct by police against the students who were protesting all over the country. Several institutes in
Kozhikode including
IIM-Kozhikode,
NIT-Calicut,
Government Medical College, Kozhikode and
Farook College expressed their protest from 19 to 20 December. Police in
Chennai denied permission for marches, rallies or any other demonstration. Internet services were also shutdown in some parts of Delhi. As a result of defying the ban, thousands of protesters were detained, primarily in Delhi, including several opposition leaders and activists such as
Ramachandra Guha,
Sitaram Yechury,
Yogendra Yadav,
Umar Khalid,
Sandeep Dikshit, and
D Raja. Despite the fear of being detained, tens of thousands of people protested in Hyderabad, Patna, Chandigarh, Mumbai and other cities. Civil society groups, political parties, students, activists and ordinary citizens used social medial platforms to ask people to turn up and protest peacefully.
Assam , Assam created as a part of protests against anti Citizenship Act 2019 at Chandmari,
Guwahati, Assam Students of
Cotton University began protesting against the CAA a few days before the controversial bill was produced on the floor of the
Lok Sabha. On 29 November, the students staged a silent protest outside the university campus. After the bill was cleared on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in
Guwahati, and other areas in the state. The protesters were angry that the new law would allow thousands of
Bengali speaking non-Muslim
immigrants from Bangladesh to become legal citizens of India, Thousands of members and workers of the
All Assam Students Union (AASU) and 30 other indigenous organisations, artists, cultural activists of the state gathered at Latasil ground in Dispur to stage a
satyagraha against the Act on 16, 17 and 18 December.
Assam Police subsequently detained the general secretary and the
adviser to the AASU and over 2,000 protesters in Guwahati during a protest rally on 18 December. On 12 December, security personnel, including
CRPF jawans with batons and shields barged into the office of a private TV channel of Assam,
Prag News in Guwahati and attacked its staffers with batons during protests. On 20 December,
Assamese language newspapers reported violent incidents occurring during the protests across the state. Use of excessive force by the police was also reported. In
Dibrugarh, the All Assam Students Union members vandalised the district office of the
Asom Gana Parishad, which had voted in favour of the act as part of the ruling Coalition. Peasant leader
Akhil Gogoi was arrested in
Jorhat on 12 December as a preventive measure by authorities to prevent him from organising any protests. A special court of
National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Guwahati on Tuesday charged him under
sedition for "
maoist links" and sent him to 10-day NIA custody. The
Assam Human rights Commission decided to take suo moto cognizance of reports of alleged torture upon Akhil Gogoi. According to the
Assam Government, people have been arrested by the Assam Police for their alleged involvement in the violent incidents during the anti-CAA protests across the state, as of 17 December. In
Dispur, several thousands of protesters broke down police barricades to protest in front of the
Assam Legislative Assembly building. Demonstrations were also held in
Agartala. On 15 December 2019, a concert was staged by artistes of Assam as a protest against the CAA. The concert was themed as 'No CAA, Concert for peace and harmony'. Along with music, paintings were also demonstrated in the event. Access to the internet was restricted in Assam by the administrative authorities. Officials reported that at least four people died after clashes with police in
Guwahati. On 15 December,
Gauhati Medical College and Hospital official stated that Ishwar Nayak died on the night of 14 December and Abdul Alim died on 15 December morning. Both of them had been admitted to the hospital after suffering gunshot wounds. After ten days of restriction, mobile internet services in the state were restored from 20 December, although the
Gauhati High Court had ordered the government of Assam to restore the service by 5 pm on 19 December. By 22 December, the number of arrested people rose to 393, with 28 cases being registered for making offensive and provocative posts on social media. On 21 December, an all-woman protest was organised across the state. Senior citizens across the state protested on 23 December. Chowkidinghee playground in
Dibrugarh saw one of the largest mass gatherings of CAA protests in Assam organised by All Assam Students' Union on 24 December. On 8 January, PM Modi cancelled his visit to Assam while the protests continued in the state. AASU had planned huge protests during Modi's visit.
Tripura Several protests marches with thousands of protesters were held in Tripura. On 12 December
BBC reported that the army had been deployed in the state and around 1800 people were arrested. On 11 December,
Pradyot Manikya Debbarma, the royal scion, led the largest protest in Tripura so far consisting of thousands of people.
Crackdown on Universities Jamia Millia Islamia On 13 December 2019, the students of
Jamia Millia Islamia University undertook a march to the Parliament protesting against the CAA. They were prevented from going ahead by the police who used batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters leading to clashes with them. Fifty students were detained by the police after the clash. According to the students, police attacked the peaceful protesters with stones and sticks, and several students were injured. The students then retaliated, and clashes ensued. Police denied the allegations, also claiming that the protesters attacked the policemen with stones after they were stopped from marching onwards. Police then used tear gas to disperse them. On the morning of 15 December 2019, more than two thousand students of Jamia joined the protests against CAA in Delhi. Jamia Millia Student Body and Jamia Millia Islamia Teacher's Association (JTA) condemned the violence that happened on the same day in Delhi and stated that no student or teacher was involved in the violence. The police used batons and tear gas on the protesting students. The visuals of students being dragged and
assaulted by the police was telecast by news channels. Students from all across Delhi joined the agitation. About two hundred people were injured . On 16 December 2019, two students of Jamia were admitted to the
Safdarjung Hospital with bullet injuries received during the protests on 15 December. According to the doctors treating him, the wounds were from a gunshot. The police stated that they were investigating the allegations of gunshot. The university was shut until 5 January 2020 and the residents were asked to leave the campus. ;Response The police violence was heavily criticised by filmmaker
Anurag Kashyap, actor
John Cusack and
Rajkummar Rao condemned the police violence, with Cusack referring it to
fascism and Kashyap calling the government to be "clearly fascist". Actor
Swara Bhaskar, praised the students protests for raising their voice against communalism and called the police action as dictatorial, brutal, shocking and shameful. She also questioned if it was the police and not the protesters who vandalised the property in Delhi and Aligarh.
Amnesty International India criticised the police for the violence against the students of Jamia and Aligarh University and stated that the allegations of police brutality and sexual harassment against the students should be investigated and culprits be punished. Defending the right of the students to protest, its director stated that the arrest of protesters violate India's obligations under the Article 19 and Article 21 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. as well as organisations such as
Pinjra Tod and the
Students' Federation of India. The students of Jadavpur University, West Bengal, called a protest gathering on 16 December, to "condemn the brutal
state terror on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University". At the event of IIT Kanpur, communal slogans were also raised by the protesters. ; in solidarity with AMU JMI JNU, 8 January 2020 in New Delhi .|alt= ;Aftermath On 17 December, police arrested ten people (some of them having criminal history) in the case of the violent clashes in Jamia. None of the arrested were students of Jamia. On 13 January, several student groups protested outside the office of Vice-Chancellor asking to reschedule the exam dates, filing a case against Delhi Police and ensuring the safety of students. The VC announced in the afternoon, that a case will be filed against police on 14 January.
Aligarh Muslim University On 15 December, protests against CAA were held outside the campus of the
Aligarh Muslim University. On the evening of 15 December, police officers forcefully entered the campus of the university and assaulted the students. At least 60 students were injured including the president of the students Union. The access to the internet was restricted in the area by the district administration. The university was closed from 15 December till 5 January 2020. A report by three activist-lawyers alleged that the police had resorted to "deceptive shelling", firing explosives camouflaged as tear gas shells during the crackdown. On the evening of 17 December, police released 26 people (including 8 students) on personal bonds. They had been arrested on charges of violence. On 19 December,
People's Union for Democratic Rights' fact-finding team consisting of activists
Yogendra Yadav,
Harsh Mander and
Kavita Krishnan released a report on police crackdown at the Aligarh Muslim University. The report alleged that the police had called the students as terrorists and had used religiously charged slogans such as "
Jai Shri Ram". The report also accused the police of breaking the protocols of the campus. It added that no bullet injury was reported. The report was prepared after visiting the campus, based on the video and audio clips of the incident, statements of the injured students and witnesses. After a lull of four days, on 20 December, AMU campus again witnessed protests on Saturday with hundreds of AMU non-teaching staff joining hands with AMU teachers' association, protesting against the CAA and "police atrocities" against the agitators in various parts of the state. On 24 December 1000 – 1200 protesters were booked after organising a candle march inside
Aligarh Muslim University for violating section 144.
Nadwa College On 16 December, around 300 students of
Nadwa college, in Lucknow had planned a peaceful protest march against CAA and in solidarity with the students of AMU. The police prevented students from holding the march and forced them to return into the campus premises. The police locked the gates of the campus from outside and guarded it with a heavy deployment of police to prevent the students from coming out of the campus and undertaking the planned march. Around 15 to 20 students were injured. 30 students were charged by the police for attempt to murder, rioting etc. The police accused the students of blocking the road and engaging in violence by throwing stones. The assault and vandalism lasted for 3 hours, where the mob chanted slogans exclaiming the victims to be "naxalites" and "anti-national". The mob assaulted journalists and social activist,
Yogendra Yadav in the presence of media and police, who attempted to enter the campus on receiving news of the incident. The mob also punctured the tires of ambulances attending to the victims of the assault which had left more than 42 students and teachers as severely injured. Street lights were shut off by authorities during the incident. Students of the campus including the
JNUSU president, Aishe Ghosh who was brutally attacked on head and was hospitalised, alleged the police of intentional inaction as police were informed before the assault about unknown groups entering in the campus. Around 30 students who were members of the left wing groups were injured along with 12 teachers. Visually impaired students were also not spared from assault. The students and left wing organisations accused the members of the BJP's student wing,
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad of orchestrating the attacks, while ABVP accused the left wing organisations. The assault was orchestrated through a WhatsApp group called "Unity against Left" which were traced through messages from members of the ABVP in the group. Students in Mumbai, launched a protest called "Occupy Gateway" late at night to protest against the assault. As a reaction to the assault, protests occurred across the country and in several cities.
Delhi . (pic taken on 7 January 2020). On 14 December 2019, thousands of agitators packed into
Jantar Mantar Road, filling up a space estimated to be half the size of a football ground, as multiple demonstrations occurred against the CAA in Delhi. The next day in Delhi near New Friends Colony, three
Delhi Transport Corporation buses were torched. On 17 December 2019, Delhi's Seelampur area had stone-throwing crowds face off against the police. The police retaliated with tear gas and batons, in which, according to local reports, several protesters and officers were injured. There were also reports of a police station being set on fire. According to police, buses were vandalised in the area. On 19 December 2019, the administrative authorities imposed a ban against public gatherings in parts of Delhi. Politicians
Yogendra Yadav,
Sitaram Yechury,
Nilotpal Basu,
Brinda Karat,
Ajay Maken,
Brinda Karat,
Prakash Karat,
Sandeep Dikshit,
Umar Khalid and
D. Raja along with around 1,200 protesters were detained by the police. On 20 December 2019, two Delhi Metro stations –
Jamia Millia Islamia and
Jasola Vihar Shaheen Bagh were closed. Amid nationwide crackdown because of CAA,
Bhim Army Chief
Chandrashekhar Azad's permission for the march from Jama Masjid to
Jantar Mantar had been denied by
Delhi Police. In spite of the denial of permission and the imposition of
Section 144, a protest march was held where Azad was able to escape after being detained by the police. The protests were peaceful throughout the day, but in the evening a car was torched in Daryaganj after which the police attacked the protesters with water cannons and lathi charge. On 21 December, Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested along with 27 people and three FIRs were registered for the violent incidents on 20 December at Delhi Gate and Seemapuri. On 15 January, a Delhi court granted bail and released Chandrashekhar Azad aka "Raavan". Protests were conducted by the journalists against the police brutality on the journalists covering the Anti-CAA protests especially in the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. In the protests,
Sitaram Yechury stated that only the states ruled by the
Bharatiya Janata Party were experiencing violence. He further added that the other states were peaceful and hinted that the differences between the situation in the states show the who were encouraging violence. On 23 December 2019, protests were held at multiple locations. 93 other students protesting outside Assam Bhawan and demanding the release of RTI activist Akhil Gogoi were detained by the police. The students alleged that the police used violence on the protesters. On 24 December 2019, Police imposed a ban on gatherings in central Delhi's
Mandi House near the Lutyens' Zone to prevent the protest march of students from multiple universities. The anti CAA-NRC protest march was to start from Mandi House to
Jantar Mantar. On 27 December, the Delhi Police used
facial recognition software by recording a video of the protester and checking it with the database of criminals maintained by them. On 14 January,
Supreme Court lawyers conducted a protest march from the Supreme Court to Jantar Mantar to protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR. On 19 January, in Delhi, hundreds of protesters joined a protest march holding lighted candles from Jamia University to Shaheen Bagh. Later, it was reported that four protestors also died during the violence. The
Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the violence appeared orchestrated because of U.S. President
Donald Trump's visit to India. On 26 February, The
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned the violence in New Delhi. USCIRF Chair
Tony Perkins said, "We urge the Indian government to make serious efforts to protect Muslims and others targeted by mob violence." The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has also condemned the New Delhi violence. It stated that steps must be taken to prevent the incidents of "
Islamophobia" in the country. The OIC statement further went on to add that it "condemns the recent and alarming violence against Muslims in India, resulting in the death and injury of innocent people and the arson and vandalism of mosques and Muslim-owned properties." The Government of India (GOI) has reacted by describing the criticism from the OIC as "inaccurate, selective, and misleading." The GOI also described USCIRF's criticism as "factually inaccurate and misleading, and appear to be aimed at politicising the issue."
Shaheen Bagh Since 14 December, a continuous 24/7 sit in protest is being conducted. The protest began in the afternoon of 14 December with just 15 local women, and went on to gather thousands of protesters with crowds reaching as high as 100,000 on Sundays. On New Year's Eve, thousands of protesters camping at the site sung the
Indian national anthem. They were joined in by celebrities and activists on 31 December. But in a turn of events, the protest took a turn for the worse when anti India slogans were shouted at Shaheen Bagh with reference to Jinnah and a call out to try and break India (
Jinnah wali Azadi), where many miscreants with their own agenda had joined. The day was also recorded to have been the coldest in Delhi in the past 100 years. On 10 January, the
Delhi High Court rejected a plea to shift the Shaheen Bagh protesters. The area has been covered with protest artwork.
West Bengal On Saturday, 14 December 2019, violent protests occurred in West Bengal as the protesters attacked railway stations and public buses. Five trains were set on fire by the protesters in
Lalgola and
Krishnapur railway stations in
Murshidabad district; railway tracks were also damaged in Suti. On Monday, 16 December 2019, tens of thousands of people joined a protest march led by Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee and her ruling
Trinamool Congress party. Mamata Banerjee stated that the NRC and CAA would not be implemented in West Bengal state as long as she was alive. She appealed people not to resort to violence, while accusing people from outside the state and members of the
BJP of engaging in arson. On Tuesday, 17 December 2019, protests that included road and rail blockades continued in parts of West Bengal including the districts of
South 24 Parganas,
North 24 Parganas and
Nadia. On 19 December 2019, a crowd with thousands of protesters gathered at Moulali in central Kolkata to peacefully object CAA and NRC. Earlier, on 18 December, a young
BJP worker along with five associates, wearing
lungi and
skullcap were seen by the local residents throwing stones on a train engine. The arsonists were caught by the locals who handed them to the
Murshidabad police. Between 13 and 17 December 2019, multiple incidents of violence were reported during the protests. According to the police, as of 21 December, more than 600 people had been arrested for allegedly being involved in the violence. On 24 December 2019, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lead a protest march in Kolkata from
Swami Vivekananda statue at
Bidhan Sarani. She accused PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of making contradictory statements. She stated "The prime minister is saying there has been no discussion or proposal on NRC. But a few days ago, BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said NRC exercise would be carried out across the country. Both the statements are contradictory. We wonder who is speaking the truth. They are trying to create confusion,". On 3 January, the radical Islamic organisation
Popular Front of India (PFI) had planned an anti CAA protest for 5 January, but the West Bengal police denied permission for it. Since 7 January, women had been conducting a sit in protest at the grounds of Park Circus in Kolkata.
Punjab Protests begun in
Malerkotta,
Patiala and
Ludhiana with the support of
Khalsa Aid, Alliance of Sikh Organisations and various Dalit organisations. By 17 December, protests were being held in
Amritsar, Malerkotla,
Machhiwara,
Bathinda and
Ludhiana. Students of
Panjab University,
Punjabi University and
Central University of Punjab took a leading role in the protests backed by the Association of Democratic Rights.
Razia Sultana, the only Muslim MLA and a Minister of the
Punjab Cabinet organised a large protest in Malerkotla. A cabinet meeting in Punjab decided to proceed as per the decision of the state assembly. A statement was released stating, "The ministers also expressed concern over the implications of the blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR," They also expressed concern on the violence over CAA stating, the issue "threatened to rip apart the secular fabric of the nation".
Banaras Hindu University students also protested the police action targeting AMU and Jamia students. However, they also held a rally in support of the CAA and NRC. On 19 December, the administration banned public assembly all over the state to prevent further protests in the state. Access to the internet was restricted in
Azamgarh district for 2 days, after protest continued for 2 days in the area. On 20 December 2019, six protesters are killed in police firing in UP. On 21 December 2019, violent protests along with alleged police brutality were reported from several districts across the state. Access to the internet was restricted. The number of fatalities in the state increased to 16. In
Muzaffarnagar the government, sealed 67 shops. Chief Minister, Adityanath had threatened the protesters that his government would auction the properties of the rioters to recover the losses due to the damage made to the property. On 28 December, the
Indian Express reported that with 19 killed and 1,246 people arrested based on 372 FIRs lodged in the state, UP was the worst affected state with the biggest police crackdown in India. On 17 January in Lucknow, around 500 women along with their children started a sit in protest at 2 pm near the Clock Tower. The video of policemen carrying away the blankets was recorded and shared on social media. The conduct of UP police was criticised by the users and the phrase "KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE" (blanket thief UP Police) became the top trend on Twitter in India. The police had issued a prohibition on assembly in Lucknow,
Karnataka On 16 December, protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were held in various parts of
Karnataka. In
Mysore, hundreds of protestors marched on the street, raising slogans and took out bike rallies. The police imposed a
ban on public assembly in Mysore. In
Bangalore, the
IISc students organised silent protest in the campus in solidarity with the students of Delhi and other parts of India. On 21 January more than 300,000 people join an anti-CAA protest rally at
Kalaburagi in Karnataka. On 20 December, Karnataka High Court asked the state government to explain the prohibitions on the assembly in the state. On 23 December, over 100,000 protesters gathered around the town hall in Bangalore. On 4 January in Bangalore hundreds of protesters participated in a rally and accused
Modi government of attempts to divide India on the basis of religion, and distracting people from the issues of economic slowdown and job losses in the country. As of 14 January 2020, 82 separate protest occasions had taken place in the city. The number was observed to be the highest number of protests in a month in the city's history. The protests were primarily held in Town Hall and
Freedom Park. On 25 January, more than thousand women staged a sit in protest at Frazer Town in Bangalore for 48 hours.
Mangalore According to
India Today, on 19 December seven CCTV recorded the arrival of a mob near a Mangalore police station along with a tempo carrying gunny bags full of stones. They then made an organised attempt to attack a police station, block all roads to the station, stone the police personnel and steal firearms. In
Mangalore 38 protesters from
Campus Front of India who were marching towards the
Deputy commissioner residence were arrested by the police arrested on charges of blocking traffic on Balmatta Road. On 19 December, a curfew was imposed in Mangalore until 20 December, while protesters marched on the streets defying prohibitory orders. Two people died with gunshot wounds after police fired on the crowd. Karnataka Police restricted the entry of people from Kerala to Mangalore at the
Thalappady state border and detained more than 50 people without identity cards. On 20 December, the mobile phones of several journalists in Mangalore (many from Kerala) were confiscated and the journalists were detained. The Chief Minister of Kerala,
Pinarayi Vijayan who condemned the action as an attack on
media freedom and intervened after which the journalists were released. On 22 December, the Karnataka government announced a compensation of each to the families of the two men killed in violent protests in Mangalore on 19 December. Demonstrations protesting against the CAA and the attack on students in Delhi were also held by the students of Government Law College at
Katpadi and Government Arts College in
Tiruvannamalai. On 23 December
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam along with allied parties held a "mega rally" as an anti-CAA protest in Chennai. Protests were also continued to be held in various parts of Tamil Nadu including
Salem and
Krishnagiri. In Chennai, eight anti-CAA activists, including five women, were arrested for drawing
kolams criticising the CAA and NRC. Following their arrest, the opposition DMK officially supported the
kolam protest, and anti-CAA and anti-NRC
kolams were drawn outside the houses of its leaders and members. On 16 January, police in
Chennai banned all protests in the city for a period of 15 days. 5 women and 1 man (including a physically disabled person) were detained by the police for protesting against CAA. On 17 December, five students were arrested by the
Gujarat police for allegedly creating a
graffiti against Citizenship Act. According to the police, the students (all in their early twenties) of the
Maharaja Sayajirao University's Fine Arts department had made a graffiti that said "no CAB Modi", but instead of the letter 'o' in the phrase the students made a '
swastika' sign. The graffiti was made at locations that included police headquarters, Kala Ghoda Circle, the Fatehgunj pavilion wall and the wall of a hostel near Rosary School. A police complaint was registered on 16 December for "using provocative and humiliating words to hurt sentiments of the people from one community and cause violence, and also damaging public property". The Police alleged that "They used slogans with certain symbols in their graffiti to intentionally hurt religious sentiments of a particular community and affect public peace and cause riots against members of a community. They also damaged public property." The police has already arrested five and two students who were absconding were being searched. On 19 December 2019, videos surfaced allegedly showing protestors attacking policemen in Ahmedabad and Banaskantha. On 25 December 2019, many activists alleged that
Nirma University in Ahmedabad tried to "intimidate" its students who took part in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and also advised their parents to "counsel" them. The SMS sent by the university to the protesting students' parents read thus: " It has come to our knowledge that your ward was involved in protest against recent issues. The Police and Intelligence Bureau-IB have taken details of your ward from us... This is also to inform you that if your ward continues to participate in the protest, the police might create a record against him." On 15 January 2020, a petition was filed in Gujarat High Court asking for the court's intervention to allow the petitioners to hold Anti-CAA protests in Ahmedabad. The petitioners stated that police did not grant them permission for peaceful anti-CAA protests but granted permission to 62 programmes held by the BJP to support the CAA. The petitioners said that the administration keeps denying the permission to Anti-CAA protesters and called it a violation of fundamental rights of the citizens. The Court asked the police to decide timely on the protests application. On 17 December, A dawn-to-dusk hartal (shutdown) was observed in Kerala by
Welfare Party of India,
Bahujan Samaj Party,
Social Democratic Party of India and other 30 organisation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the police violence against students at various universities across the country, in relation to anti-CAA protests. On 23 December, multiple protests in Kochi was organised and took place. People's long march, which started from
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium premises and ended near
Cochin Shipyard. Cultural activists led another march from the Gandhi Square to Vasco De Gama Square at
Fort Kochi. Another march led by CPI state secretary
Kanam Rajendran was also held at the same time started from
Kalamassery and ended in Rajendra Maidanam. On 24 December,
Differently-abled Come together against CAA and NRC at
Marine Drive, Kochi. On 28 December, several delegates attending the
Indian History Congress held at
Kannur University protested during Kerala Governor
Arif Mohammad Khan's speech. Some of them were detained by police, but were later released following an intervention by Kannur University. On 31 December,
Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution demanding scrapping of the Act. On 1 January 2020 in
Kochi, around half a million assembled in peaceful rally to protest against the CAA-NRC, held between
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and
Marine Drive. On 14 January, the
Kerala government approached Supreme Court to challenge the CAA under section 131 of the constitution and becomes the first state to do so. The article 131 of the Indian constitution provides Supreme Court the power to decide the disputes between the states and the Government of India. On 26 January, to protest against the CAA and the proposed NRC the
Left Democratic Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had organised the human chain. The chain was formed by approximately 6 to 7 million people and extended for a distance of 620 kilometres from
Kasaragod to
Kaliyikkavila. On 21 December, numerous protests took place across Hyderabad organised by students, NGOs and various political parties. The
Hyderabad Police stated that the protests remained peaceful. Protesters demanded Chief Minister
K. Chandrashekar Rao, whose party
Telangana Rashtra Samithi had voted against the bill in parliament, to end his silence with respect to the CAA. By 23 December, it was reported that protests had spread to smaller towns, including Nizamabad. On 4 January, more than 100,000 protesters attended the protest march named "Million March" in Hyderabad. On 19 December, Nitish Kumar declared that the NRC will not be implemented in the state, becoming the first major
Bharatiya Janata Party ally to reject the controversial measure. On 19 December, a
bandh was called by
communist parties in
Bihar, supported by a number of small parties, where protesters blocked rail and road traffic in protest against CAA and the proposed countrywide implementation of NRC. On Saturday, 21 December, a "Bihar bandh" was called by the
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), where bandh supporters reportedly blocked railway tracks in
Araria and
East Champaran districts. In
Nawada, bandh supporters demonstrated on
National Highway 31 where wheels were burned on the road and the movement of vehicles was disrupted, while in
Vaishali, the highway was blocked with the help of buffaloes. In Patna, hundreds of party supporters with lathis entered the railway stations and bus stations with party flags, but were repulsed by policemen. At
Darbhanga, RJD workers and supporters protested bare chest, sloganeering against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and central government. During a protest at
Phulwari Sharif near Patna, some of the miscreants started pelting stones and a clash broke out between protesters and the supporters of the Act. A nearby temple and a cemetery were damaged in the clash. Eyewitnesses said police had used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the people. Police said that people of Hindu community fired bullets that injured nine Muslim men. During the stampede, an eighteen years old teenage protester Amir Hanzla ran towards the lanes of Sangat Mohalla, a neighbourhood that was a hub of
RSS-affiliated right wing Hindutva members. His dead body was found a week after he was allegedly murdered by the
Hindutva extremists. Police arrested six people accused in the case who belonged to Hindu Putra Sangathan, a Hindutva group. All of the suspects confessed their crimes and police is also investigating 18 other organisations related to this extremist group.
Maharashtra On 19 December, different NGOs and college students, backed by
Congress,
Nationalist Congress Party and
Left Democratic Front parties, jointly formed a front with the name "
Hum Bharat Ke Log" and held a protest at the August Kranti Maidan. Mumbai police had deployed more than 2,500 policemen to monitor and control around 20,000 protesters. Protests were held in other cities in the state such as
Pune,
Nashik,
Malegaon,
Kolhapur and
Nagpur. On 28 December, on the occasion of the foundation day of the party, the state unit of the Congress party in Mumbai undertook a flag march and used the slogan "Save Bharat-Save Constitution". The march started from the August Kranti Maidan and ended at the statue of
Lokmanya Tilak near Girgaum Chowpatty. It was attended by office bearers and workers of the party. Similar marches were held in many parts of the country. On the midnight of 6 January, students of
IIT Bombay began a protest called "Occupy
Gateway" in Mumbai in response to the
attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University campus. They were joined in by hundreds of protesters, including activists
Feroze Mithiborwala,
Umar Khalid and comedian Kunal Kamra. On 12 January, thousands of people joined the anti-CAA protests at Jogeshwari in Mumbai. Slogans such as "I Am From Gujarat, My Documents Burned in 2002", "No CAA, Boycott NRC, Stop Dividing India, Don't Divide us", "Save Constitution", were displayed on the banners. Large number of policemen were also deputed for security.
Pune On 11 January, an all women sit in protest was started outside Konark Mall in Kondhwa, in
Pune, organised by Kul Jamaat-e-Tanzeem, an umbrella body of several organisations. the protests started with fewer people participating but the crowd grew steadily and reached around 500–600 protesters as reported on 19 January. According to a protester the movement was to save the constitution and the country. Candle light vigil, human chains and speeches were made as part of the protest. The venue had banners with slogans such as 'Tumhari Lathi Se Tej Hamari Awaaz Hai' and 'Liar Liar Desh on Fire', as well as 'India Needs Education, Jobs, Not CAA, NRC, NPR'.
Shaheen Bagh-style protests against CAA, NPR and NRC were held over several days in
Pune Camp.
Nagpur In Nagpur, on 24 January, lawyers, doctors and professors conducted a rally. In the rally a high court judge, Ravi Shakar Bhure said that the judiciary had become helpless as well and termed the actions of the government to be part of a massive conspiracy.
Northeast India The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) implementation has faced significant opposition in Northeast India, especially in Assam. Critics argue the CAA is discriminatory and undermines indigenous rights . The central government's decision to exclude most tribal areas from the CAA has been met with mixed reactions, as regions like Assam still largely fall outside the Sixth Schedule and are thus not exempted . Assam, due to its porous borders with Bangladesh, has been particularly affected by illegal immigration, which heightens the controversy surrounding the CAA . Existing student bodies, such as the Northeast Student Union (NESU), have been criticized for their inaction on the issue . In response, the Wesean Student Federation(WSF) was formed in March 2024, advocating for international intervention and urging the United Nations to address the CAA's discriminatory aspects . Calls for excluding the entire Northeast from the CAA's purview have been persistent, reflecting widespread regional discontent . In Assam, only areas under the Sixth Schedule, like the Bodoland Territorial Region, are exempt, leaving much of the state vulnerable to the CAA . This discrepancy has sparked questions about the state's policy consistency, as highlighted by All Assam Students Union Chief Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya . Efforts to grant Scheduled Tribe status to additional Assamese communities could potentially lead to a tribal-majority state fully exempt from the CAA, though this has not yet materialized . Meanwhile, organizations like the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) are pushing for the implementation of an
Inner Line Permit system to further protect against illegal immigration .
Other states and union territories •
Meghalaya: On 9 December, large scale protests were held in the state. Vehicles and buildings were vandalised in
Shillong. Curfew and internet restrictions were imposed in several parts of the state. On 20 December, the internet restrictions were lifted after an order from
Guwahati High Court while night curfews remained in place. The agitations continued in the state with the capital of Shillong being primarily affected. The agitations were led by student organisations with regular demonstrations taking place in universities like North East Hill University. •
Goa: On 13 December,
Goa Forward Party chief,
Vijai Sardesai, who dubbed the bill as "communal ammunition bill", took part in the protests in
Margao. On 22 February, over 15,000 people gathered at a protest in the capital city
Panaji, organised by the "Goa Alliance Against CAA-NRC-NPR" with support from the Goa Church. •
Chhattisgarh: On 15 December, a protest march was held under the banner of the "Anti-CAB Agitation Forum" from Marine Drive area to Ambedkar Chowk in Raipur in the evening. •
Odisha: On 16 December, thousands of protesters, including farmer leaders, student activists,
Dalit leaders and people with disability, hit the road in Odisha against the CAA, NRC and the attack on Jamia students. They marched from Satyanagar Mosque towards the residence of Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik in
Bhubaneswar. They also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister and Governor
Ganeshi Lal. On 30 January, 25,000 protesters marched through central Bhubaneswar to protest against the CAA. •
Uttarakhand: On 16 December, protest marches were organised in
Dehradun,
Kashipur,
Haridwar,
Nainital and
Udham Singh Nagar,
Haldwani, districts opposing the law terming it discriminatory and unconstitutional. •
Chandigarh: On 19 December, over 700 students from Punjab University accompanied by students, activists and residents of surrounding districts like
Ambala and
Patiala conducted a protest march in city. •
Manipur: On 19 December, women vendors of
Ima Market held a silent protest by closing down all their shops. Students also held protest rallies where a few minor scuffles broke out between them and security forces. •
Madhya Pradesh: On 20 December, protests reportedly turned violent in
Jabalpur, leading to a curfew being imposed in four police station limits. •
Rajasthan: On 22 December, Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot led a protest march of nearly 300,000 people christened "
Samvidhan Bachao rally" against CAA. The protestors stated that CAA was against the constitution and is an attempt to divide the people based on their religion. They demanded that the new law be repealed. The protest march was supported by several political parties including Congress,
Aam Aadmi Party,
Rashtriya Lok Dal and
Janata Dal (Secular). On 24 December 200,000 people attended a protest in
Kota. On 25 January, Rajasthan Assembly, with Congress in the majority, passed a resolution asking the central government to repeal CAA and also objected against the NPR and NRC. Paris, Berlin,
Geneva, Barcelona, San Francisco, Tokyo,
Helsinki, and
Amsterdam, witnessed protests against the Act and the police brutality faced by Indian protesters.
North America Protests were held in solidarity with Indian protesters outside the
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in
Washington D. C. and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, where the students held demonstrations against the violent police crackdown in Jamia Milia Islamia. On 26 January 2020, the 71st Republic Day of India, protest held in 30 cities of the United States including cities which have Indian consulates like, New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco and in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. Various organisations including Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), Equality Labs, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) participated in the protest.
Europe The first anti-CAA protests in Europe were held outside the
High Commission of India in London, on 14 December 2019. On 16 December, students at
University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom demonstrated their protest against the Act. On 20 December 2019, students from various universities in the
Netherlands protested against the Act and the
National Register of Citizens in front of the Indian Embassy at
The Hague. Around 300 students from
University of Leiden,
University of Groningen, and
Erasmus University assembled in a peaceful protest by reading the
Preamble to the Constitution of India and anti-CAA slogans. Till date, four protests were held in front of the embassy by the Indian diaspora living in the Netherlands. Protests were also held in
Berlin, Germany On 21 December 2019, around a hundred students and professionals of Indian origin living in
Munich, Germany gathered at the memorial to the
White Rose Movement outside
LMU Munich and protested against the CAA, NRC, and the police action against the students of
Jamia Millia Islamia and
Aligarh Muslim University. Diverse voices from France too, joined in for anti-CAA, anti-NRC protests. A letter of solidarity with protests in India and condemning the citizenship legislation, signed by hundreds of students and other professionals including eminent writers like
Shumona Sinha,
Amit Chaudhuri, musicians-
Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Prabhu Edouard et al. preceded a planned mass protest gathering. On 4 January 2020, peaceful and song-filled protests by students, educationists and others from the Indian and foreign diaspora were held at Parvis du
Trocadéro in Paris and also in front of the Indian Embassy, Paris despite facing the irk of some local
BJP supporters. On 14 January, more than 500 people gathered outside the Indian embassy in London to protest against the CAA. In
Berlin, Germany more than 200 people join the protest march against CAA, NRC,
JNU attack on 19 January. The march was led by the Indian diaspora and started at the Brandenburg Gate and ended at the Indian Embassy. The protesters demanded the repeal of the CAA stating that it impacts the secular constitution of India. The protesters carried banners with slogans such as "Protect the Constitution", "Stop Dividing India", "United Against Racism in India" and "No Citizenship on the Basis of Religion". The protester also asked for the abolishing the NPR and NRC which could be used along with the CAA for a mass disenfranchisement of Muslims in India. The members pointed out that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called the CAA 'fundamentally discriminatory', and also accused the Indian government of "discriminating against, harassing and prosecuting national and religious minorities and silencing any opposition, human rights groups... and journalists critical of the government". The members have asked EU to include a "strong human rights clause with an effective implementation and suspension mechanism" while negotiating any trade agreement with India. On the same day, students of
University of Dhaka assembled in solidarity for the student protesters who were beaten by police and also condemned the CAA. On 22 December, members of the
Indian community in Australia gathered at the
Parliament of Victoria in
Melbourne in huge numbers and protested against the new Act and police brutality through sloganeering. On 24 December, a 32-year-old Indian national protested against the CAA in the district of
Marina Bay in Singapore. The local authorities called it an unauthorised protest on foreign politics.
Africa Protests were held outside the Indian Consulate in
Cape Town. == Methods ==