CAA protests in Uttar Pradesh was a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

that began in response to the passage of the

Citizenship (Amendment) Act The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing an accelerated pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted refugees of religious minorit ...

(CAA) in both houses of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 11 December 2019. and the police intervention against students at

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

who were opposing law which gives priority to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians resident in India before 2014, but excludes Muslims, including minority sects. The student activists were also demanding complete roll back of CAA. The protest were supported by world wide Indian community generally against the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP) government's citizenship act. The protesters were also supported by Major trade unions opposing the government's anti-labour policies and have protested against recent happenings such as the 2020 JNU Attack. The Shaheen Bagh protests has inspired similar ''Shaheen Bagh-style'' protests across the country, such as in Gaya, Park Circus,

Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

, Mumbai and Bengaluru. However, The UP Police claimed that firing by protesters, not cops were behind many deaths in the CAA protests in the state. A fact-finding team comprising students from several prominent universities such as JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Banaras Hindu University on Wednesday accused the Uttar Pradesh police of "brutality" in dealing with anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests and targeting Muslims.

Background

Causes

No NPR CAA NRC graffiti Shaheen Bagh protests New Delhi 8 Jan 2020

On 12 December 2019, the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

passed the

Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing an accelerated pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted refugees of religious minorit ...

(CAA), which amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to grant a swifter path to Indian citizenship under the assumption of

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

to any individual belonging to the specific religious minorities of

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

s, Jains,

Parsis The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, for those who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. However, the Act does not mention Muslims from those countries and does not offer eligibility benefits to Muslim immigrants or immigrants belonging to other religions or from other countries, such as Sri Lankan Tamil refugees,

Rohingya The Rohingya people (; ; ) are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who predominantly follow Islam from Rakhine State, Myanmar. Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an estimated 1.4 million Ro ...

Muslim and Hindu refugees from

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, and Buddhist refugees from Tibet. It is also alleged that the

National Register of Citizens The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is meant to be a register of all Indian citizens whose creation was mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Its purpose is to document all the legal citizens of India so that the illeg ...

(NRC), which the government plans to implement for the country in 2021, could be used to deprive Muslims of Indian citizenship. The CAA–NRC issue also ignited protest of the economic crisis and economic disparities that the country is facing. Women's safety, rising cost of commodities, increasing unemployment and poverty have acted as catalysts for the protest. The Indian economy has been witnessing a decreasing growth rate, increasing household debt, inflation, unemployment and economic inequality. The

State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Public sector undertakings in India, public sector bank and financial service body headquartered in Mumbai. It is the largest bank in India with a 23% market shar ...

estimated a growth rate of 4.6% for the

financial year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

(FY) 2020, which would be the lowest since the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

where the growth rate had been 3.9%. The unemployment rate of India was reported to have reached a 45-year high of 6.1% in FY 2017–18. The Center for Monitoring Indian Economy stated the unemployment rate to be 8.45% with a rate of 37.48% for the 20–24 age group and 12.81% for the 25–29 age group in October 2019. According to the 2019 report of the

Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...

, 393.7 million jobs are in a vulnerable state. Oxfam India data states that control of the country's wealth by the richest 1% of the population increased from 58% to 73% between 2018 and 2019, while the wealth of the poorest 50% increased by 1%. The WPS-index (Women, Peace and Security index) ranked India at 133 amongst 167 countries in 2019–20.

The protest

Anti- Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Uttar Pradesh were held in

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

and

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

students also protested the police action targeted at the AMU and Jamia students. However, they also held a rally in support of the CAA and NRC. On 19 December, the administration banned public assembly all over the state to prevent further protests in the state. Access to the internet was restricted in

Azamgarh district Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...

for 2 days, after protest continued for 2 days in the area. In Lucknow, several buses, cars, media vans and motorbikes were torched. A protester named Mohammad Vakil died due to gunshot injuries in the stomach.

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born Ajay Mohan Singh Bisht; 5 June 1972) is an Indian Hindu monk and politician. He is currently serving as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh since 19 March 2017, became the first to hold the office for two consecutive ter ...

stated that the authorities would seize the properties of those who indulge in violence in the state. On 20 December 2019, six protesters are killed in police firing in UP. Arif (25), Zaheer (40), and Moshin (25) from Meerut, while Anas (22) and Sulaiman (26) from Nehtaur area,

Bijnor Bijnor () is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Rights activists in Uttar Pradesh, said local policemen were conducting raids on their houses and offices to prevent them from planning fresh demonstrations. According to the

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...

, the death toll from Friday's protests in Uttar Pradesh's 13 districts has risen to 11. Amid police crackdown across Uttar Pradesh over the protests, families in Bijnor's Nehtaur alleged that vandalism by the state police has forced them to flee their homes. On 21 December 2019, violent protests along with alleged police brutality were reported from several districts across the state. Access to the internet was restricted. The number of fatalities in the state increased to 16. In Rampur, the protesters held a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

(

bandh Bandh () is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community declare a general strike. For example, a ''Bharat (t ...

) while a ban on public assembly was in force in the state. Multiple clashes causing injuries to several people were reported. According to the police, 263 policemen were injured, of which 57 were firearm injuries. ''NDTV'' later reported that they could only find one policeman with bullet wound and the police did not share the list of 57 policemen with bullet injuries. Private property such as two-wheelers and a car were set ablaze. In Kanpur, a police post was burned during the clashes. Police arrested 705 people in the state, with 102 arrested for making allegedly objectionable remarks or social media posts. According to the UP Police, as of 21 December, a total of 218 people had been arrested in Lucknow. On 22 December 2019, large number of police personnel were deployed in several districts in Uttar Pradesh, including

, Meerut, Aligarh,

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...

and

Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar (, ) is a city under Muzaffarnagar district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway ( NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It ...

. Police cases were registered against 31 leaders of the

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...

and 150 party workers in

Banda, Uttar Pradesh Banda is a city and a municipal board in Banda district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Banda is divided among north, east, west and south Banda. Banda lies south of the Yamuna river in the Bundelkhand region. It is the administrative ...

for violating the ban on public assembly. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

warned its citizens to be cautious if they were travelling in the state. Disciplinary actions were reported from educational institutions, the actions included suspension and expulsion of teachers and students participating in protests. On 24 December, Uttar Pradesh Police stated that 21,500 people were charged in 15 FIRs for violent incidents in Kanpur. In

the government, sealed 67 shops. Chief Minister, Adityanath had threatened the protesters that his government would auction the properties of the rioters to recover the losses due to the damage made to the property. Several CCTV videos were released from the public in Muzaffarnagar that showed Police personnel vandalizing property, damaging cars and shops, even though the government blamed the protesters for the damage. On 26 December, In Sambhal, UP, the government sent notices to 26 people for their alleged involvement in damaging properties during protests and asked them to explain their position or pay for the loss due to damage of property. The losses to the property were assessed to be . Earlier, on 22 December, the UP government had created a panel to assess the damage to the property and to recover the losses by seizing the property of the alleged protesters. The social activists accused the government of intimidating the protesters. On 28 December, ''Indian Express'' reported that with 19 killed and 1,246 people arrested based on 372 FIRs lodged in the state, UP was the worst affected state with the biggest police crackdown in India. UP Police and paramilitary forces also used security drones to monitor people and to prevent people from gathering to protest. In

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

, a police officer was seen on video telling Muslim protesters to "Go to Pakistan". Even though the official figure of number of deaths so far in UP was 19, opposition parties claimed that the actual figure was higher. The UP police had maintained that the deaths of protesters were not the result of police firing, but later on they admitted that some deaths were indeed caused by the police but attributed those incidents to shots fired in self defence. The UP government asked the Union Home Minister, to ban the radical Islamic organisation

Popular Front of India Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Islamist political organisation in India, that engages in a radical and exclusivist style of Muslim minority politics. Formed to counter Hindutva groups, it was banned by the Indian Ministry of Home Aff ...

(PFI) alleging that it was involved in violence during the protests in the state. On 17 January in Lucknow, around 500 women along with their children started a sit in protest at 2 pm near the Clock Tower. The police tried to convince them to end the protest but the protesters refused to move. In the evening, the riot police did a flag march in the grounds. The police restricted the entry of male protesters. The police claimed that the women protesters had requested this to prevent others from sabotaging the demonstration. On the night of 18 January, Uttar Pradesh police cracked down on the CAA protesters and snatched their blankets, utensils and food items. The video of policemen carrying away the blankets was recorded and shared on social media. The conduct of UP police was criticized why the users and the phrase "KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE" (blanket thief UP Police) became the top trend on Twitter in India. The police responded saying that they had confiscated the blankets following due procedure. The protesters alleged that police also cut the electricity connection to the ground, locked the public toilet nearby and poured water on the bonfire in the winter night. The police had issued a prohibition on assembly in Lucknow, and stated that they will prosecute the protesters for violating it. On 21 January, police registered cases against 160 women for violation of the ban on assembly and protesting against CAA in Lucknow. Despite ban on assembly in Lucknow on 21 January, Home Minister Amit Shah was allowed by the administration to address a pro CAA public rally. Amit Shah said that the protesters can continue protesting but the government would not revoke the CAA. On 21 January, in a unique way of protesting, more than a hundred women protesters at Khureji Khas in Delhi released 10,000 gas filled black coloured balloons with the message "No CAA NPR NRC".

Aligarh Muslim University

On 15 December, protests against CAA were held outside the campus of the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

. On the evening of 15 December, police officers forcefully entered the campus of the University and assaulted the students. At least 60 students were injured including the president of the students Union. The access to the internet was restricted in the area by the district administration. The university was closed from 15 December till 5 January 2020. A report by three activist-lawyers alleged that the police had resorted to "deceptive shelling", firing explosives camouflaged as tear gas shells during the crackdown. On the evening of 17 December, police released 26 people (including 8 students) on personal bonds. They had been arrested on charges of violence. On 19 December,

People's Union for Democratic Rights People's Union for Democratic Rights is an organisation based in Delhi which is committed to legally defend "civil liberties and democratic rights" of the people. The People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) is an independent entity and is not ...

' fact-finding team consisting of activists

Yogendra Yadav Yogendra Yadav (born 5 September 1963) is an Indian activist, Psephology, psephologist and politician whose primary interests are in the political and social sciences. He was a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies ...

Harsh Mander Harsh Mander (born 17 April 1955) is an Indian author, columnist, researcher, teacher, and social activist who started the Karwan-e-Mohabbat campaign in solidarity with the victims of communal or religiously motivated violence. He is the Dir ...

and

Kavita Krishnan Kavita Krishnan is a women's rights activist who has publicised the problem of violence against women following the 2012 Delhi gang rape of Nirbhaya. Krishnan was also a politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) L ...

released a report on police crackdown at the Aligarh Muslim University. The report alleged that the police had called the students as terrorists and had used religiously charged slogans such as "'' Jai Shri Ram''". The report also accused the police of breaking the protocols of the campus. It added that no bullet injury was reported. The report was prepared after visiting the campus, based on the video and audio clips of the incident, statements of the injured students and witnesses. After a lull of four days, on 20 December, AMU campus again witnessed protests on Saturday with hundreds of AMU non-teaching staff joining hands with AMU teachers' association, protesting against the CAA and "police atrocities" against the agitators in various parts of the state. On 24 December 1000 – 1200 protesters were booked after organising a candle march inside

for violating section 144. On 15 January, Aligarh Muslim University postponed all exams due to the ongoing CAA protests. ;Aftermath At 7 am on 16 January, Vice-Chancellor met the protesting students and expressed regret for calling police inside the AMU campus to handle the law and order situation inside campus. He defended his decision stating he had not thought that the police would enter the hostels. AMU had set up a fact-finding committee headed by Justice (retd.) V.K. Gupta for a detailed investigation of the events that occurred in the night of 15 December. The VC asked to students to cooperate with the fact-finding committee and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team that was visiting the campus.

Nadwa College

On 16 December, around 300 students of Nadwa college, in Lucknow had planned a peaceful protest march against CAA and in solidarity with the students of AMU. The police prevented students from holding the march and forced them to return into the campus premises. The police locked the gates of the campus from outside and guarded it with a heavy deployment of police to prevent the students from coming out of the campus and undertaking the planned march. A clash between the police and the students locked inside the campus ensued and involved

stone pelting Stone throwing or rock throwing, when it is directed at another person (called stone pelting in India), is often considered a form of criminal battery. In certain political contexts, stone-throwing is considered a form of civil resistance. Hi ...

from both sides. The police officers were seen hitting the students with sticks as in the video footage of the incident telecast on news channels. Around 15 to 20 students were injured. 30 students were charged by the police for attempt to murder, rioting etc. The police accused the students of blocking the road and engaging in violence by throwing stones. While the students claimed that the police had attacked the unarmed students who were holding a peaceful protest. The student stated that they were neither involved in any violence, nor did they block any roads and yet they were charged with batons. After the incident the college was shut down until 5 January, and the students were asked to leave the campus.

IIT Kanpur

On 17 December, students of

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT- Kanpur or IIT-K) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was declared an Institute of National Importance by th ...

assembled in a peaceful protest against the CAA and to express solidarity with the students of

. During the protest, the students sung

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his ...

's popular Urdu nazm, "

Hum Dekhenge Hum Dekhenge ( - In english ''We shall see'') is a popular Urdu nazm, written by the Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Originally written as ''Va Yabqá Vajhu Rabbika (And the countenance of your Lord will outlast all)'', it was included in t ...

", a song of resistance and defiance and against state oppression. A temporary faculty submitted a complaint against the song to the Deputy Director of IIT Kanpur, alleging that the poem provokes anti-Hindu sentiments. A commission was subsequently set up; however, the student media body rejected the charges as misinformed and communal, which divorced the poem out of its societal context. Later the administration clarified that it was not going to probe whether the recital of Hum Dekhenge is anti-Hindu or not.

Aftermath

In the aftermath of the protests, the State Government posted hoardings of protestors with their names, photographs and addresses in various places. After the intervention of the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court of India, the posters were removed. The High Court called the government’s action “shameless” and an “unwarranted interference in privacy”, the posters were removed.

Recovery of damages

References

External links

*
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
'.

The Gazette of India ''The Gazette of India'' is a public journal and an authorised legal document of the Government of India. It is published weekly by the Directorate of Printing Department of Publication, a subordinate office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban ...

. (2019) {{Citizenship Amendment Act protests

2019 protests 2020 protests December 2019 in India January 2020 in India Immigration-related protests Immigration to India Protests in India Secularism in India Xenophobia in Asia Politics of India 2019 riots 2020 riots 2010s in Uttar Pradesh 2020s in Uttar Pradesh