Guwahati, Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) escalated across Assam with the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and 30 affiliated organizations launching hunger strikes in various districts on Sunday, signaling a deepening of the crisis surrounding the controversial law.

According to Kashmir Media Service, demonstrators in Bilasipara carried out a 12-hour hunger strike at the local AASU office and issued a stark warning of potential mass self-immolation if the CAA is not repealed. Similar protest activities were observed in other districts such as Golaghat, where the District Students’ Union and tribal groups collaborated on a hunger strike adjacent to the union’s office.

The Nalbari district witnessed gatherings by the AASU and tribal associations at the Nalbari Natya Mandir, while the All Charaideo District Students Union in Sonari initiated their own 12-hour hunger strike to contend the CAA’s discriminatory aspects. Dibrugarh also joined in these protests, with the district committee of the AASU and their affiliates commencing a hunger strike.

The broader political landscape in Assam reflects unease regarding the CAA, with opposition parties attempting to engage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the state to discuss the act’s repercussions. The United Opposition Forum, Assam, which includes 16 opposition parties, has already petitioned the President of India, through the Governor of Assam, to repeal the CAA.

These developments occur against the backdrop of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement of the CAA’s implementation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, a move that has evidently fueled the protests and hunger strikes across Assam.