Indian Police Block Entrance To University In Uttar Pradesh Amid Civil Unrest - Witness

NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2019) Several dozen police officers have blocked a university campus entrance in the Indian city of Lucknow, the capital of the Uttar Pradesh state, barring both students and professors from joining the protests against the amendments to the new citizenship law, a member of the faculty told Sputnik over the phone on Monday.

Last week, the Indian parliament passed a bill that fast-tracked citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who had fled from neighboring Muslim countries before December 2014, while Muslims themselves were excluded. Earlier on Monday, the Indian authorities announced that the universities in which students participated in mass riots over the law be closed until January 5.

"A mob of several thousand has gathered at the gate of the campus, however several dozen policemen have blocked their exit to the city. In response, the students started throwing rocks and bricks over the fence, many of them are aggressive. Addition police units are being deployed to the location," the witness said.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a call for unity amid the ongoing unrest.

"The need of the hour is for all of us to work together for the development of India and the empowerment of every Indian, especially the poor, downtrodden and marginalised," Modi tweeted.

The citizenship law triggered protests in the states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, as well as Delhi, resulting in clashes with the police. At least six people have died in the protests, and about 60 people, including police officers, were injured during unrest on Sunday night.

Indian Muslims believe that the new law violates the constitution, as it oppresses a group of citizens in a formally secular country on religious grounds. The residents of the country's north-eastern states were also angered, fearing that now millions of people from Bangladesh could legally settle in their regions, which, according to the organizers of the protests, could threaten the interests of the local population.