page_title: Citizenship Amendment Act protests
section_title: Punjab
hierarchical_section_title: Citizenship Amendment Act protests / Protests / Punjab
caption_attribution_description: English: A sikh from [Ludhiana], Punjab participate anti-caa protest at India Gate, Delhi on 1 January 2020
context_page_description: The Citizenship Amendment Act protests, also known as CAA Protest or CAB Protest, occurred after the Citizenship Amendment Act was enacted by the Government of India on 12 December 2019. The move sparked a widespread national and overseas ongoing protests against the act and its associated proposals of the National Register of Citizens. The protests first began in Assam and spread swiftly in other states such as Delhi, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura on 4 December 2019. Protests broke out rapidly across the country, although the concerns of the protesters vary.
  The CAA amends the Indian citizenship to illegal migrants who are Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who entered India before 2014 following the religious persecutions. The bill does not mention Muslims and other communities who fled from the same or other neighbouring countries. Refugees from Sri Lankan Tamils in India, Rohingyas from Myanmar, and Tibetan refugees are not mentioned in the bill. The proposed National Register of Citizens will be an official record of all legal citizens of India.
context_section_description: Protests begun in Malerkotta, Patiala and Ludhiana with the support of Khalsa Aid, Alliance of Sikh Organizations and various Dalit organisations. By 17 December, protests were being held in Amritsar, Malerkotla, Machhiwara, Bathinda and Ludhiana. Students of Panjab University, Punjabi University and Central University of Punjab took a leading role in the protests backed by the Association of Democratic Rights. Razia Sultana, the only Muslim MLA and a Minister of the Punjab Cabinet organized a large protest in Malerkotla.
  A cabinet meeting in Punjab decided to proceed as per the decision of the state assembly. A statement was released stating, "The ministers also expressed concern over the implications of the blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR," They also expressed concern on the violence over CAA stating, the issue "threatened to rip apart the secular fabric of the nation".
caption: A sikh from Ludhiana, Punjab participates in the anti-CAA protest at India Gate, Delhi on 1 January 2020