13 dead in protests against India’s anti-Muslim Citizenship Law

Six people died and dozens were injured on Friday as Indian police clashed with thousands of protesters who again took to the streets in several parts of the country to

Six people died and dozens were injured on Friday as Indian police clashed with thousands of protesters who again took to the streets in several parts of the country to oppose a new law they say discriminates against Muslims.

There were standoffs at police barricades in half a dozen towns in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, which has long been a tinderbox of communal tensions between majority Hindus and minority Muslims.

At least six people died and 32 were injured in clashes between police and stone-throwing protesters, Uttar Pradesh police chief O.P. Singh told Reuters, making Friday the single deadliest day of the protests so far.

Singh said that none of the deaths on Friday were due to police shooting, and 144 people were arrested. With the latest fatalities, the total number of deaths during the nationwide demonstrations, now in their second week, stands at 13.

The backlash against the law pushed through parliament by the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Dec. 11 marks the strongest show of dissent since he was first elected in 2014.

The legislation makes it easier for people from non-Muslim minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who settled in India prior to 2015 to obtain Indian citizenship.

Critics say the exclusion of Muslims is discriminatory and that the award of citizenship based on religion undermines the constitution.