Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act raged across India yesterday, from Delhi to Chennai to Kolkata to Hyderabad. Violence broke out in places like Mangaluru and Lucknow, and hundreds were detained by the police.
Here’s a quick look at the front pages of leading newspapers.
The Times of India said 1,200 people were detained, and mobile and internet services were blocked in some areas to “foil” protests. “Determined to prevent any outbreak of violence — after clashes at Jamia Nagar and Seelampur in the past few days — Delhi Police pulled out all stops to foil the attempt,” the lead story said.
Hindustan Times said there was an “unprecedented clampdown” in Delhi . “Despite the restrictions and detentions, the protests were peaceful — a sharp contrast to similar demonstrations in other parts of the country, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Mangaluru where rampaging mobs torched vehicles, clashed with police and pelted stones. At least three people died across the country.”
The Hindu‘s lead story was headlined “Two die in police firing in Mangaluru as anti-CAA protests rock the country”. The report said: “Police in the coastal city of Mangaluru lathi-charged and later opened fire at protesters they claimed were trying to set fire to a police station and had targeted police personnel in Bunder area.” It added, “In the national capital, the police — which is under the Union Home Ministry — detained people from various locations and thwarted a demonstration.”
The Hindu‘s editorial was on the protests too. ” It is quite unedifying for the state to use its power to regulate public protests to negate the people’s right to assemble peacefully,” it said. It continued: “On the political side, India’s leadership will have to respond to the widespread public fears over the implementation of the new naturalisation norms. On the administrative side, however, the authorities should aim to facilitate the exercise of the people’s rights, rather than suppress them.”
The Indian Express also focused on the violence in Mangaluru on its front page. It said protests have moved “beyond the campus”, “as thousands poured into the streets defying prohibitory orders”. The lead story collated quotes from Mamata Banerjee, Priyanka Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury, P Chidambaram, Uddhav Thackeray and others on the protests.
Express also published an editorial saying the images from yesterday are a “reproach” to the Narendra Modi-led government. “…the world’s largest democracy cannot look like it cannot accommodate its young who disagree, it cannot afford to signal that it is so ill at ease with itself. At any time, and especially when its economy is in slowdown, India risks a lot if it begins to be seen as a place where the dissenter’s mind is not without fear.”
The Telegraph said the “cap” was “off a volcano”. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims the protesters…can be identified ‘from their clothes’, but Sam’s branded jeans and denim shirt and Gazi’s kurta-pyjamas and skullcap displayed a sartorial diversity at a Calcutta rally on Thursday that defied facile pigeonholing.”
The newspaper’s editorial said citizens’ “spirited defence of the Constitution” was “heartening”. “Unfortunately for Narendra Modi, the protests that were initially led by valourous students have now attained a distinctly collective character. They could not have attained such a scale otherwise. Mr Modi must address and resolve the reasons of the anxiety. That is what a pluralist democracy expects from its prime minister.”
In Chennai, The New Indian Express headlined its story “Bharatiya janata outrage”. A smaller story said the “worried” government has deferred the framing of rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act. “Unnerved by the large-scale protests across the country…the government is delaying the process of framing the rules for implementing the new law and promising to consult all stakeholders…MHA sources said the government was treading cautiously with the rules, which they plan to frame only after peace is restored.”
Deccan Chronicle said “Youth protests sweep India”. “Public property was vandalised and police was pelted with stones. To disperse the crowd, police resorted to lathicharge, firing teargas shells and even firing in the air.”
Deccan Herald said the “flames” of the Citizenship Amendment Act have “spread”. “Students, activists, academicians, politicians and prominent citizens took out simultaneous protests that raged in multiple cities from north to south. Hundreds of protesters were detained across the country as authorities resorted to barricading and clampdown on mobile services, including in the national capital. Large-scale violence was reported from Uttar Pradesh, especially Lucknow, and Bihar.”
