18-hour anti-CAB bandh begins in Nagaland, affects life

Normal life was affected in Nagaland on Tuesday evening following an 18-hour bandh call by two organisations against the proposed tabling of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

The bandh called by the North East Forum for Indigenous People (NEFIP) and Joint Committee on Prevention of Illegal Immigrants (JCPI) began at 6 PM and will end at 12 noon on Wednesday.

Shops in the state that normally remain open till late at night downed shutters at 6 pm, official sources said.

However, the movement of vehicles was normal.

There is no report of any untoward incident from any quarters, the sources said.

Besides the NEFIP and the JCPI, several other bodies that expressed their support to the shutdown appealed to the people to stay indoors during the bandh period to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).

The CAB is likely to be tabled in the Winter session of the Parliament.

The proposed legislation will grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after seven years of stay in the country even if they do not possess proper documents.

However, indigenous people of the Northeastern states fear that entry of these people will endanger their identity and livelihood.