Photos: Protests against CAB; army deployed, curfew imposed, and flights suspended

On Wednesday, a bill granting citizenship to religious minorities from three Muslim-majority countries in India’s neighbourhood was passed by Parliament, overruling Opposition that alleged it was against the idea of India as a secular nation. As protests erupted in northeastern states and other parts of the country, tens of thousands of protestors clashed with the police and paramilitary troopers. In view of the violence, the government has cancelled some flights to and from the Assam sector and mobile internet has also been shut down in 10 districts.

Updated on: Dec 12, 2019 10:54 PM IST

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Demonstrators shout slogans as they hold placards to protest against the government's Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), during the shutdown in Agartala. After a seven-hour debate, the Rajya Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, or CAB. The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill shortly after midnight on Tuesday. It will become law once President Ram Nath Kovind formally gives his assent to the bill. (STR / AFP)

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College students along with locals burn tyres during their protest strike against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), in Tinsukia district of Assam. The CAB seeks to amend the 1955 Citizenship Act by bestowing citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and Jains who entered India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. This was a key election promise of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014 and 2019. (PTI)

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College students raise slogans in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) during a strike, in Guwahati. The Congress said it will continue to fight the bill. “Today marks a dark day in the constitutional history of India. The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill marks the victory of narrow-minded and bigoted forces over India’s pluralism,” said party chief Sonia Gandhi. (PTI)

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Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the governments Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), in Guwahati. The controversial legislation has sharply polarised opinion across India, especially in the north-eastern states where tens of thousands of people marched on the streets for the third straight day. (Biju Boro / AFP)

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Women activists take part in a protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, in Bengaluru. “The people are determined and we are determined against CAB. The CAB must go,” said Samujjal Bhattacharya, the chief adviser of All Assam Students Union. (PTI)

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Protesters burn wooden hoardings during a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, in Guwahati. Chidambaram charged the government with “wrecking and demolishing” the Constitution and expressed confidence that the judiciary would strike down the law. “This [bill] is a slap on the face of Parliament... I am afraid this government is ramming through this bill in order to advance its Hindutva agenda,” he said. (ANI)

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Students of Presidency University hold placards during a protest against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in front of Presidency University, in Kolkata. Senior Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said it would be challenged in the Supreme Court. He alleged that through the CAB and National Register of Citizens (NRC), the ruling party wanted to alienate genuine Indians from their own country. “We will not let it happen anywhere in the country,” he added. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Protestors shout slogans during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Guwahati. To contain the protests, the administration suspended internet services for 24 hours in 10 districts of Assam, including Guwahati, and also clamped prohibitory orders restricting movement of people or assembly of more than four people. Also, the Centre airlifted 5,000 paramilitary troops to areas where violence has been reported or intelligence agencies suspect further disturbance in coming days. (Anupam Nath / AP)

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RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav along with party leaders shout slogans during a protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) at JP Square near Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Yadav slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his party extending support to the Bill in Parliament. (Parwaz Khan / HT Photo)

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Men ride a motorcycle past a damaged bus that was set on fire by demonstrators, during a protest after India's parliament passed Citizenship Amendment Bill, in Guwahati. “Things are in control. There was a lot of violence last night. Curfew had to be imposed. We are monitoring the situation closely and Army has been called in and doing a flag march,” said Pallav Gopal Jha, Deputy Commissioner, Dibrugarh. (Anuwar Hazarika / REUTERS)

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Congress workers and supporters during a protest march led by DPCC President Subhash Chopra against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 at BJP headquarters, in New Delhi. “This bill is to give citizenship, not to take away citizenship; the citizenship of Indian Muslims is not being taken away,” Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Upper House. He also attacked the Congress, which opposed the bill, and alleged that the principal opposition party was speaking the language of Pakistan. (Sonu Mehta / HT Photo)

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Indian Youth Congress (IYC) members stage a torch march in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in New Delhi. In the Rajya Sabha, a number of opposition parties termed the bill unconstitutional. (Ravi Choudhary / PTI)

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Protestors gather in a street during a protest strike against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), on the outskirts of Sivasagar town in Assam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured the people of Assam that he and the central government are committed to constitutionally safeguard the political interests of the Assamese. (PTI)

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The contentious bill, however, incited a different reaction from the Hindu refugees from Pakistan living in New Delhi who danced in merriment to celebrate the smooth passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha. (Raj K Raj / HT Photo)