The protests come amid the passing of a new citizenship law by the Modi government, which allows for the fast-tracking of minority groups-Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and Parsis - that entered the country illegally from Afghanistan, Banglasdesh and Pakistan to gain Indian citizenship.The protests are particularly controversial since it ties religious identities (especially non-Muslim) to Indian citizenship, in effect acting as a challenge to the country's historic secularism.
