There have been widespread protests in India against the law, some even violent resulting in the deaths of more than 20 people, with dozens injured. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested by security forces on various charges.
In the United States, the Indian diaspora rallied at New York’s Times Square, carrying placards, supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and chanting slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As videos of the rally in support of the law surfaced on social media platforms, several Twitter users agitating against the law slammed these non-resident Indians and asked them if they would like to return to India and contribute to building India.
However, several others backing the CAA were left overwhelmed by the overseas support for the law.
In past few days, rallies both in favour and against CAA were witnessed in different parts of America, Australia, and the UK.
Several Indian diaspora organisations in the US have come out in support of the CAA holding marches in different cities, including Seattle, Austin, Dublin, Houston, and Raleigh. The rallies are being organised to educate people about misinformation and myths relating to the law.
On the other hand, students held peaceful protests against the law in the US cities of Chicago and Boston, condemning the Indian government’s egregious behavior and the police’s role in violence at Indian universities.
The citizenship law seeks to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants from six religious minorities – Hindus, Parsis, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, if they arrived in India prior to 2015. It, however, doesn't extend the same treatment to Muslims.