Nearly 50 working professionals from Assam and rest of the Northeast, based in Mumbai, jumped onto the protest bandwagon against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, by carrying out a march in the Maharashtra capital on Thursday evening.

The professionals, who include filmmakers, singers, music composers, those working in the corporate sector and even students, have formed the Northeast Mumbaikar Forum to voice their angst and strong resentment over the bill.

The protesters gathered at Shivaji Park at Dadar in Mumbai as the dusk settled in, and later took out a rally carrying flex and placards and covered around 3km to Dadar railway station.

Those who took part in the protest, included filmmaker Reema Borah and acclaimed sound designer Amrit Pritam, who hails from Assam.

The event was also marked by a discussion on the bill and how it will endanger lives and cultural ethos of Assam and the Northeast. There was a musical soiree as well where singers created awareness about the dangers posed by the bill through song and music.

“The event was circulated widely on Facebook. In spite of being a working day, many people turned up. The Northeast Mumbaikar Forum was specifically formed for the protest. There are many associations, comprising people from the Northeast, were also involved. We live in Mumbai but are quite worried about the recent developments surrounding the citizenship bill. We want to create awareness about it among the people from the Northeast, who are based in Mumbai,” said Tomujit Singha, a member of the Northeast Mumbaikar Forum.

The march follows similar events where people from Assam, living outside the state, are taking to the streets to protest against the bill.

A few days back, students from Assam pursuing higher education at Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia university, also staged protests.