Curfew imposed in Guwahati, Internet services banned in 10 districts including Kamrup Metro

December 11: In the midst of tremendous agitation in several districts of Assam, curfew was imposed in Guwahati as protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), which turned violent as protesters set ablaze multiple vehicles in the city. The district administration of Kamrup (Metro) has also clamped section 144 or the CrPC. The curfew has been imposed from 6:15 pm on Wednesday to Thursday 6:15 am.

In a notification issued by the Political (A) Department, Govt Of Assam, in lieu of the ongoing protests against Citizenship Amendment Bill in different parts of the state, has directed all telecom operators to suspend Internet services from 7 PM today, the 11 of December. The shutdown will be for 24 hours and will be lifted at 7 PM on the 12 of December. The 10 districts of Assam where internet services was banned are Kamrup Metro, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, TInsukia, Dhemaji, DIbrugarh, Charaideo, Sivsagar, Jorhat and Golaghat.

Tens of thousands of protesters against the CAB descended on the streets of Assam, clashing with police and plunging the state into chaos of a magnitude unseen since the violent six-year movement by students that ended with the signing of the Assam accord. To tackle the situation, the police had to fire rubber bullets and resort to lathi charge on the protesters.

In view of the uproar going against the CAB in the Northeast, the central government sent in two columns of the Army to Tripura and airlifted 50 companies of paramilitary forces to Assam as protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill escalated in the Northeast. One column of the Indian Army has been put on standby, a spokesperson from the army said. Army and paramilitary forces has now started flag march in Guwahati.

At the stroke of the midnight hour on Monday, amidst great uproar both inside and outside the Parliament and after six-hour long heated debate on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, it was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday with 311 votes in its favour as against 80 votes out of 391 members who were present and voting. The protests come even as Rajya Sabha debates the Bill heatedly on Wednesday.

The citizenship amendment bill aims to provide citizenship to those who were forced to seek shelter in India without valid travel documents because of religious persecution or fear of persecution in their home countries—primarily Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The bill thus amends the 1955 Act to grant exemptions to illegal migrants from these communities, who reached India on or before December 2014.