Thousands of people belonging to the Assamese community hit the streets against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Saturday in east Arunachal Pradesh.

Wearing traditional Assamese dresses with gamosas round their neck, they chanted slogans such as “CAA aamak naa lage (We will not accept CAA), “CAA batil korok (scrap CAA), “Ai jui jolise, jolise jolibo, ai hongram solise, solise, solibo (This fire is burning and will keep burning, this movement is on and it will continue).

The protesters held placards that read: “The Northeast is not a dumping ground and “Oust illegal foreigners”, among others.

People from all walks of life, organisations like the North East Students’ Organisation (Neso) and All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) and many NGOs of the state supported the protest and expressed solidarity with Assam.

In Lower Dibang Valley district, the protesters marched from Roing gate to Eze bridge. In Namsai, the protesters marched from Tinali to Golden Pagoda.

There is a sizable population of Assamese people of the Moran community in Namsai, Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Many Assamese people also live in the Lower and Upper Dibang Valleys.

“We are against enforcement of the CAA in the entire Northeast. The region must be exempted from this unconstitutional and anti-Northeast Act,” Amar Sonowal, one of the protesters, said. “Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and all other states of the Northeast are known as seven sisters.Their pain and sorrow are almost the same. If the new citizenship law is enforced in Assam, it may affect other states too. So we will never accept one of the most controversial Act in the history of Independent India and will keep opposing it,” he added.

Braving the cold winter spell, the protesters continued their agitation. The peaceful protests ended in the evening with lighting of candles to pay tribute to the people who were killed in Assam during the anti-CAA agitations. Five persons have died of alleged police firing in Assam during protests that erupted after the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill on December 9.

Justin Tirkey, a protester, said, “The CAA is against the secular character of the Constitution. It divides us in the name of religion. It is politics to divide us for Hindu vote bank and take the nation forward to Hindu nationalism.

“The students, intellectuals and the people across the world are surprised to know about CAA. In the 21st century how can a government pass such an Act which is an insult to humanity. Assam is already over-burdened with illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and now it cannot accommodate any more.”

Peaceful protests were held in other parts of Arunachal Pradesh too.