North East Students’ Organisation Marks ‘Black Day’ Protest Against CAA on its Fourth Anniversary

New Delhi: The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) conducted widespread protests across the region on Monday, marking the fourth anniversary of the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Parliament. The student body, consisting of eight student organisations from seven northeastern states, including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), displayed black flags and banners in the capital cities of the northeastern states, demanding the repeal of the contentious law. 

According to a report published in The Sentinel, NESO Chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa conveyed the organisation's stance, stating, "We have observed ‘black day’ all over the northeast to tell the Central government that we are against the CAA that was passed in the Parliament on December 11, 2019, despite widespread protests."

In Assam, the epicentre of the anti-CAA protests in 2019, the AASU organised a protest demonstration at Swahid Bhawan in Guwahati, displaying black flags to express their opposition to the CAA.

Upendra Debbarma, advisor to NESO constituent Twipra Student Federation (TSF), highlighted the significance of 'Black Day,' stating, "The observance of ‘Black Day’ is to give a message to the government of India that we are vehemently against the CAA and also to remind our people of yet another political injustice that the government perpetrated on the indigenous peoples of the northeast." Debbarma, a former President of TSF, emphasised the demand for the repeal of CAA from the northeast.

The anti-CAA protests, initially ignited in Assam, parts of West Bengal, and other northeastern states in 2019, continued until 2020 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The protests in Assam resulted in at least five fatalities, accompanied by large-scale violence and the imposition of curfew for several days.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan until December 31, 2014, facing faith-based persecution. Although passed by both Houses of Parliament and given Presidential assent in December 2019, rules under the CAA are yet to be framed.