India's enactment of a controversial citizenship law will likely heighten political polarization ahead of the April-May general elections, raise concerns over religious discrimination, and trigger protests and high risks of violent clashes. Sporadic protests have broken out in various parts of India after the government on March 11 issued the rules for implementing its controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, which will streamline the process of granting citizenship to some undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The main protests took place in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the northeastern state of Assam, and parts of the capital New Delhi. Protesters in Tamil Nadu's capital of Chennai marched and shouted their opposition to the bill, which has been criticized as being discriminatory against Muslims. Protesters in Assam also burnt copies of the law, while protests and tensions at New Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University triggered the deployment of security forces...
