India’s Hindu-supremacist BJP government has stepped up its state repression by ramming through areactionary Citizenship Amendment Act in early December 2019. The law grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan but denies that right to Muslims from any country in South Asia. Immigrants from other countries in the region, including Tamils from Sri Lanka and Rohingya from Myanmar, are also excluded.

Workers, students and other parts of civil society have been protesting since November last year in an effort to defeat the legislation, and protests are continuing, with a nationwide general strike on 8 January bringing tens of millions of workers to the streets.

In Shaheen Bagh, a neighbourhood in South Delhi, some 200 women have been holding a permanent protest camp for over a month, and vow not to be moved until the law is lifted.

On the program today to discuss the Citizenship Amendment Act of India, it’s implications for communal violence, and the growing protest movement in opposition to it, we are joined by Shivani Kaul, from New Delhi India.