Amid a furore over the Indian government’s decision to grant citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, a video has surfaced on Twitter showing immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh crossing into the Indian state of Tripura.
The video holds importance because the state falls under the ILP policy – where even an Indian citizen requires a document from the state government to visit the state for a limited period of time.
The video has been shared by Pradyot Manikya, Chairman of The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA), a social organisation, claiming that the crossover took place in in the vilage of Daldali in the northeastern state. He also questioned the efficiency of the policy in stopping immigrants from entering the state.
The controversial citizenship law has sparked nationwide protests with people and opposition parties terming it discriminatory towards Muslims. The protests resulted in the deaths of 22 people, leaving over 50 security officers and thousands of people injured.
The protests started in the northeastern region of the country, where residents claimed that the granting of citizenship to migrants, especially from Bangladesh would reduce them to a minority in their own states.
According to police sources, nearly six people lost their lives in the violence in the northeastern state of Assam alone, later spreading to other northeastern states such as Tripura.