India Shifts Troops from Kashmir to North-East Region as Violence Erupts over Citizenship Issue

According to India’s federal Home Ministry officials, the government has withdrawn around 5,000 troops from the restive Jammu and Kashmir region and sent them the violence-hit northeastern region to control the situation.

Protests have intensified in several areas of Assam over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring countries.

Protests turned violent on Wednesday as clashes erupted between police and students at several places. Police opened fire in the air and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse an agitated crowd as they tried to block the busy streets of Guwahati, capital of the northeastern state of Assam.

A temporary stage and billboard of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe’s summit was also burnt down by protesters in Guwahati.

In another video, hundreds can be seen breaking through the barricades and subsequently being charged baton-wielding police.

Meanwhile, reports of large scale protests have also trickled down from other parts of the north-eastern region amid fears that the proposed legislation would destroy indigenous people’s identity in the region and increase the unemployment level further, as the limited economic opportunities might be cornered by refugees.