Student groups in India’s Mizoram State protested the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, on Tuesday.
The North East Students’ Organization (NESO) and the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) student organization participated in a statewide demonstration against the bill, demanding that locals not leave their houses from 5 a.m. until 4 p.m. on January 8.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 would grant Indian citizenship to Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Parsi, and Sikh migrants from neighboring Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan if they have been in the country for at least six years. The student organizations said they oppose the measure because it provides citizenship on the basis of religion, and is not inclusive of all faiths.
The bill is likely to be approved by India’s Parliament, leading to the recent outcry particularly from those in border states like Mizoram.