Protests erupt in India over citizenship amendment bill

After the bill was cleared on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in Guwahati, and other areas in the state. Reactionary protests were held as well in several metropolitan cities across India, including Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai. As a reaction, protests were also held at universities across the country, including Cotton University,  Gauhati University, IIT Bombay, Presidency University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Osmania University, 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. In Maharashtra the students of Tata Institute of Social Science and the University of Mumbai in Mumbai, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad and the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) in Pune staged protests in solidarity with their counterparts at the Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. Students from various SPPU-affiliated colleges and members of organisations such as the National Students Union of India, the Students Federation of India and the Yuvak Kranti Dal took part in the protest. Protests were also held at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States of America[

 After the bill was cleared on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, especially in Guwahati, and other areas in the state. Reuters noted the protests in the state were the most violent in the recent days, and added that at least two people were killed. Buildings and railway stations were set on fire. 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, thereby influencing the political and cultural environment of Assam. Thousands of members and workers of All Assam Students Union (AASU) and 30 other indigenous organizations, artists, cultural activists of the state had gathered at Latasil ground in the capital city of Assam to stage protest against the Act. Assam police had subsequently detained the general secretary, the adviser to the AASU and over 1,000 protesters in Guwahati while they took out a protest rally.

On Saturday, 14 December, 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. On 15 December, in Delhi near New Friends Colony, three Delhi Transport Corporation buses were torched. On 16 December, Priyanka Gandhi led a silent protest at the India Gate along with about three hundred congress workers to show solidarity with the students of Jamia Millia Islamia. On 17 December, Delhi's Seelampur area had stone-throwing crowds face off against police officers. 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 vandalized in the area.

On 13 December, 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 protestors with stones and sticks, in which several students were injured. The students then retaliated with the stones and clash ensued. Police denied the allegations claiming that after the protestors were prevented from taking their march onwards they attacked the policemen with stones first. Police then used tear gas to disperse them.

On the morning of 15 December, more than two thousand students of Jamia joined the protests against CAA in Delhi. Jamia Milia 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. At 6:46 pm on 15 December, hundreds of police officers forcefully entered the campus of Jamia, without the permission of college authority. The police used batons and tear gas on the protesting students. Nearly a hundred students were detained by the Delhi police and released at 3:30 am next morning. The visuals of students being dragged and assaulted by the police was telecasted in the news. Students from all across Delhi joined the agitation. About two hundred people were injured and were admitted to AIIMS and the Holy Family Hospital.

On 16 December, two students of Jamia were admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital with bullet injuries received during the protests on 15 December. The police stated that they were investigating the allegations of gunshot. The police later stated that it did not open fire during the Sunday incident and its personnel were not carrying firearms, while the doctors maintained that the wounds were gunshot wounds. The university has been shut until 5 January and the residents were asked to leave the campus. The vice chancellor of the university stated that they will file a court case against the police, demanding an investigation on how police was entered the university premises and assaulted the students.