Forbidding clouds of anger and apprehension gathered over northeastern States on Monday, a day ahead of the shutdown called by NESO, an umbrella organisation of students in the restive region, despite Home Minister Amit Shah’s painstaking efforts to allay their fears.
Assam and Tripura, two of the eight states that comprise the region which shares international boundaries with China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan, smouldered with protests breaking out despite Shah’s claim that the Bill is not against Muslims but infiltrators.
The 48-hour Assam bandh called by the All Moran Students’ Union (AMSU) to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and seek Scheduled Tribe status for six communities affected normal life in several parts of the state on Monday.
Hundreds of men, women and children poured into streets of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Majuli, Morigaon, Bongaigaon, Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Baksa districts soon after the bandh began at 5 am, burning discarded tyres and blocking highways.
Police wielded batons in Dibrugarh and Guwahati to break up protests and some state-run long-distance buses plied under police protection.
Foreign and domestic tourists in Kaziranga National Park were stranded due to the bandh. There was no public transport available to take them to Guwahati where they could board flights and trains to home.