Protesters boycott exams, hunger strike against India’s Citizenship Act
Protests continued in India on Saturday (December 14) against a controversial religion-based Citizenship Law.
Groups of students demonstrated at a Delhi university as they boycotted their exams.
And others in Assam also took to the streets - some hunger striking in opposition.
The law offers a route to Indian citizenship for six persecuted minority religious groups from neighbouring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan including Hindus and Christians, but not Muslims.
It was passed by parliament earlier this week.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PROTESTER, RIMJHIM, SAYING:
"We are today sitting on a hunger strike to oppose against the Citizenship Amendment Act. We have been protesting and raising our voices from a long time but right now we are here for a peaceful one and it is a hunger strike to continue because we fell Citizenship Amendment Act will be a threat to the indigenous Assamese people and that is what we want. We will continue such kind of hunger strike for a few more days."
Some protesters say the measure will open the region to a flood of foreigners.
Others said the bigger problem with the new law was that it undermined India's secular constitution by not offering protection to Muslims.
