Indians protest citizenship law

Police cracked down on thousands of protesters who gathered in India’s Assam state on Thursday to oppose a new law that grants citizenship to non-Muslim migrants. At least two people died and authorities arrested dozens.

Why is the law controversial? The protesters think the law will draw migrants from neighboring countries en masse, diluting the region’s culture and political power. The measure, passed by the Parliament of India on Wednesday, will fast-track the naturalization of Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs who fled Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh because of religious persecution before 2015. Others outside Assam criticize the law for making religion a basis for citizenship and for not including Muslims, especially Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Dig deeper: Read Kiley Crossland’s report in Relations about how Hindu nationalism fuels population control measures in India.