India has passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), a new law that will make it easier for non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring countries to gain Indian citizenship. Opposition to it is especially strong in India’s northeastern Assam state, which borders Bangladesh. Assam is an ethnically diverse region, with a large Muslim population. Thousands have defied a curfew to protest the new measure. People in Assam fear undocumented Hindu migrants from neighboring Bangladesh will now be granted citizenship, and dilute the political sway of the region. A recent citizenship registry exercise already excluded 2 million people in Assam, who now have to prove their citizenship or be rendered stateless. Hindus left off the list now have protection. But not Muslims, who could face deportation.
