Hours after the Centre announced the rules for the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, long-standing tensions in Assamese society prompted opposition parties and regional groups to call for peaceful mass protests.

Anticipation had been building in Assam over recent weeks, fueled by repeated assurances from Union ministers that the rules would be enforced before the initiation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In preparation for potential protests, bamboo barricades now line roadsides in Guwahati, and heightened security measures have been implemented at the Legislative Assembly and the Janata Bhawan, including heavy barricading and increased security deployment.

Also Read: CAA India Live Updates

Spontaneous protests erupted in some areas of the state on Monday night, with demonstrations reported in front of Cotton University in Guwahati. Lurinjyoti Gogoi, president of the Asom Jatiya Parishad, a party born out of the 2019 anti-CAA protests, labeled the day a “black day” for Assam and urged protests throughout the state.

Opposition to stage ‘Sarbatmak Hartal’

The 16-party United Opposition Forum Assam (UOFA) has announced a statewide hartal on Tuesday, besides taking up other agitational programmes in a phased manner. Security has been tightened across the state with additional deployment of police personnel following the implementation of the Act, according to a senior police official.

In response to the hartal, the Guwahati police issued a legal notice to the political parties that have called for a ‘Sarbatmak Hartal’ in Assam to protest against the CAA.

Also Read:Citizenship Amendment Act long overdue, say Indian American group

The notice stated, “Any damage to public or private property, including railway and national highway properties, or injury to any citizen caused due to ‘Sarbatmak Hartal,’ legal action under appropriate provisions of law, including the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, will be initiated against you and your organization. The total cost of damage to public and private properties will be recovered from you.”

AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya told PTI, ‘We will continue with our non-violent, peaceful, democratic movement against the CAA. Alongside, we will also continue our legal fight.” On Tuesday, copies of the CAA will be burnt by the North East Student Organisation (NESO) in all the state capitals of the region, he said.

Also Read:Security beefed up in parts of Delhi after Centre notifies CAA rules, flag march in Shaheen Bagh

“We will also take out torchlight processions in Assam, and launch a satyagraha from the next day,” he added.

Protests are being led by various political figures, including Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, who had spent 567 days in jail for his alleged role in the 2019 anti-CAA agitation. The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also staged demonstrations, expressing their opposition to the CAA.

Also Read:Centre notifies Citizenship Amendment Act rules in big move ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Why is Assam protesting against CAA?

In December 2019, when protests erupted nationwide following the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Assam witnessed particularly intense demonstrations, resulting in five casualties.

CAA enables the grant of citizenship to eligible migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan belonging to six minority communities. Muslims have been excluded from this list of eligible migrants, a development that led to nationwide protests in 2019 as Opposition parties demanded a rollback of the law terming it discriminatory.

Opposition in many parts of the country revolves around the CAA being perceived as discriminatory and unconstitutional, allowing only non-Muslim refugees to expedite their citizenship process. However, in Assam, people are upset for a different reason as they don’t want citizenship given to anyone who came to the state after March 24, 1971, regardless of religion.

Assam has a long history shaped by migration and shares a border with Bangladesh. People argue that the CAA goes against the 1985 Assam Accord, an agreement between the government and the All Assam Students’ Union, which fought against “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh for six years.

The Assam Accord considers those who arrived after March 24, 1971, as illegal immigrants, a rule also used in the state’s National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, the CAA changes this date to 2014, excluding Muslims.

While the BJP supports the CAA, saying there won’t be mass migration issues, opposition parties accuse the government of prioritising politics over people’s well-being. The CAA’s implementation has stirred up tensions in Assam, with concerns about its impact on the state’s population, language, culture, and identity.