Citizenship Law Protesters Gather at Delhi Police HQ After Campus Crackdown

Demonstrators rallied in Delhi on Monday, December 16, to protest a new citizenship law that the UN has described as “fundamentally discriminatory” against Muslims.

The act, which the government said was intended to protect minorities who had entered India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, gives a pathway to citizenship for listed religious groups. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians are all included under the legislation; Muslims are not.

Protests have been ongoing in the country since the bill was passed on Wednesday, December 11, with numerous violent clashes between demonstrators and police forces reported. At least six people have been killed.

This footage shows a rally outside the headquarters of the Delhi police. Opposition politicians criticized what they said was a disproportionate use of force by police against student protesters at New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia college. Credit: Youth Congress via Storyful