Five people fell victim to the riots in New Delhi that began on Monday during protests against the new citizenship law, while another 50 suffered, Hindu reported.
Earlier it was reported that one police officer was killed in clashes with protesters.
According to a representative of one of the capital’s hospitals, more than 50 people were affected by stones or burns, and five people, including a policeman, were killed. New Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister announced Tuesday that all schools in the northeast of the city where the main clashes occurred will be closed, the newspaper reported.
Amendments to India’s citizenship law, passed by Parliament, will allow non-Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to obtain Indian citizenship under a simplified procedure if they face harassment at home. The law has provoked resentment among Indian Muslims who believe the amendments violate the constitution by oppressing some citizens in a formally secular country on religious grounds. Outrage was also expressed by residents of the northeastern states, who are afraid that millions of Bangladeshis may now legally settle in their regions. According to the organizers of the protests, this threatens the interests of the local population.
The opposition believes that the law is discriminatory because it deprives Muslims of the possibility of obtaining citizenship, although in officially secular India with a population of 1.3 billion people, followers of Islam constitute more than 10% of the population. According to critics, under these conditions, religious affiliation should not be a condition for acquiring citizenship.