Thousands of people turned out across India on Thursday to demonstrate against the controversial Citizenship Act and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s promise of an all-India National Register of Citizens, which many believe will be used as a tool to harass Indian Muslims. The demonstrations came days after the police used violent means to suppress protests in Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, leaving hundreds injured.
Massive protests took place in Delhi – where hundreds were detained and the internet was shut down – Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, but also in numerous other towns across the country from Yamunanagar in Haryana to Puducherry.
The protests took place through the day around the country, despite advertisements by the government in the morning insisting no one need worry about the Citizenship Act – a claim that is not fully borne out by the facts.
Along with demanding that the government take back the act and promise not to carry out a National Register of Citizens, the protesters also used the opportunity to take aim at the ideology of the ruling party and also make their point through memes, puns and roses handed out to the police.
Below is a selection of posters from the many protests that took place on Thursday:
Photos: Karnika Kohli, Vijayta Lalwani, Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, Aarefa Johari
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