Protests erupted across Assam and ripples were felt in other north-eastern states as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government cleared changes to the Citizenship Act, a decision that also prompted one of its regional allies, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), to break ties. <br /> <br />The amendment proposes to give citizenship to people from neighbouring countries who are religious minorities there, letting those who have lived in India for a particular period of time be naturalised. This has become contentious because it can potentially inflame ethnic divides in the north-east, where the influx of Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh has been a major issue over the last decade.
