As of Jan 6, at least 31 people have died in connection with Citizenship Amendment Act protests in India. The state most heavily affected was Uttar Pradesh, where 20 districts reported protests involving violent incidents or police action, and 22 deaths were recorded. This is according to data compiled by The Hindu. Meerut, where five Muslim men were shot dead, and Firozabad, where six died, saw most victims.
In Assam, where a record low number of people agree with the CAA, only two districts reported unrest, but the state also mourns six victims. Four were shot by police in Guwahati mid-December, among them two teenagers aged 16 and 17. In Mangalore, Karnataka, two more protesters were killed by police bullets.
According to The Hindu, 94 districts across 14 states reported protest, out of which almost 50 percent included violent incidents or police action. In UP, protests turned violent in almost 90 percent of the 24 districts reporting it.
In the North of India, almost 70 percent agree with the Modi government’s decision to not extend fast-track citizenship to Muslim immigrants as part of the CAA. In the Northeast overall, that number was just over 50 percent. In Assam, support was as low as 31 percent.
