On 11 March 2024 the Union Home Ministry notified the rules that brought the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 into operation. Within hours, student and indigenous groups in Assam burnt copies of the law, and on 12 March a 16-party opposition forum held a statewide hartal that the Assam Police had ordered withdrawn as illegal. Protests followed in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. The Supreme Court refused an interim stay, and the challenge was still pending in 2026.
Key takeaways
- The Assam Police ordered the 16 parties to withdraw the hartal, warning of personal legal action. PTI reported it "did not evoke much response" outside a few districts.
- Assam's objection rests on the Assam Accord's 1971 cut-off; the CAA covers non-Muslim migrants who entered by 31 December 2014.
- Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he would be "the first to resign" if anyone who had not applied for the NRC got citizenship. Scroll later reported that the first person in Assam granted citizenship under the Act had not applied for the NRC.
Background: the Act and the 2019 protests
Parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019. It lets Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 apply for citizenship; Muslims are not included Scroll. Areas under the Sixth Schedule and states with the Inner Line Permit system in the Northeast are exempt ETV Bharat/PTI.
Elsewhere, protests in 2019 and 2020 centred on the law's alleged anti-Muslim bias; in Assam, groups feared being swamped by migrants from Bangladesh. The 2019 protests in Assam, led mainly by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, turned violent, and five people were killed in police firing Scroll. Those protests are covered on a separate page.
How it started: the rules are notified
The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were notified on 11 March 2024, days before the Lok Sabha election dates were announced. Applications are made online through a Home Ministry portal Business Standard. Home Minister Amit Shah said the government had "realised the promise of the makers of our constitution" to the six communities in those countries Scroll.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the timing, "right before the elections", was "designed to polarise" voters, especially in West Bengal and Assam Business Standard.
Protest plans predated the notification: on 8 March the opposition forum held a sit-in at Kaliabor during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. On 10 March Chief Minister Sarma warned that parties organising strikes against the CAA could lose their registration Scroll.
11 March: copies of the law burnt
On the evening of 11 March, AASU and 30 indigenous organisations burnt copies of the Act in Guwahati, Barpeta, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh, Tezpur and other towns. In Dibrugarh, AASU members scuffled with police who tried to stop a procession from their office. Students protested outside Cotton University in Guwahati Business Standard/PTI.
We will continue with our non-violent, peaceful, democratic movement against CAA. Alongside, we will also continue our legal fight.
Samujjal Bhattacharjya, AASU adviser, to PTI, 11 March 2024
The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), formed after the 2019 movement, marched with black flags in Guwahati and other towns Scroll.
The United Opposition Forum, Assam (UOFA), a 16-party alliance led by the Congress, announced a 12-hour "Sarbatmak Hartal" for 12 March. Its statement said: "We will not accept the CAA at any cost as it will destroy the Assamese community" Scroll.
12 March: the hartal and the police notices
On the night of 11 March the Assam Police sent identical legal notices to the presidents of the 16 parties. The notices said the 6 am to 6 pm hartal carried "every likelihood of breach of peace" and would lead to highway and railway blockades "declared as illegal and unconstitutional by various judgements" of the Supreme Court, the Kerala High Court and the Gauhati High Court ETV Bharat.
The notice cited a Gauhati High Court order in Writ Petition (C) 7570/2013 dated 19 March 2019 and ordered the parties to withdraw the hartal, "failing which legal action will be taken against you in your personal capacity". It warned that the cost of any damage would be recovered from the organisers under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 ETV Bharat. Scroll, reporting the chief minister's warning, gave the date of the High Court order as 19 March 2023 Scroll. No court ruled on this particular hartal.
Director General of Police G P Singh said the notices were served "to ensure that there is no damage to public property and risk to life of the people through any forceful agitation". Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia called it "shameful that the state police department was acting at the behest of the BJP government" Siasat/PTI.
PTI reported that the hartal "did not evoke much response". Shops and businesses stayed shut in a few districts such as Sivasagar, Golaghat, Nagaon and Kamrup Siasat/PTI NE Now. Street protests continued:
- The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) burnt effigies of the Prime Minister and Home Minister in Lakhimpur and copies of the Act in Nalbari.
- Congress workers led by Saikia burnt copies in Guwahati; the CPI(M) also demonstrated.
- In Sivasagar, Raijor Dal, the KMSS and the Chatra Mukti Parishad protested with MLA Akhil Gogoi Siasat/PTI. Police detained several KMSS activists there Sentinel Assam.
- Over 200 Gauhati University students protested, with more than 80 police personnel deployed on campus, according to SabrangIndia citing Guwahati Plus SabrangIndia.
Sonitpur district imposed Section 144 of the CrPC, and commandos were deployed in sensitive areas Siasat/PTI.
13 March onward: torchlight marches and satyagraha
AASU and the 30 organisations took out torchlight processions on the evening of 12 March and held a satyagraha at all district headquarters on 13 March. An AASU delegation went to New Delhi on 12 March to pursue its Supreme Court petition. The Trinamool Congress's state unit said it would burn copies of the Act and rules at all district headquarters on 14 March Careers360/PTI.
By 14 March the DGP had posted that while most people had welcomed the police preparations, "some have questioned intensity and quantum of preparations" Deccan Herald. No deaths or serious violence were reported in the sources reviewed for this page.
What the chief minister said
In Sivasagar on 12 March, Sarma said: "I am a son of Assam and if a single person who has not applied for NRC gets citizenship, I will be the first to resign." He said the portal data would settle whether the opponents' claims were correct ETV Bharat.
On 18 March he predicted three to five lakh applications in Assam, all from people left out of the 2019 NRC, which excluded 19 lakh of 3.4 crore applicants. "There won't be any 15 or 18 or 20 lakh or 1.5 crore applicants in Assam," he said Siasat/PTI.
Protests in other states
Kerala. Within hours of the notification the DYFI held night marches in several districts, Youth Congress workers blocked two trains at Kozhikode and Ernakulam until police removed them, and the Welfare Party and SDPI marched to Raj Bhavan The News Minute. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the law "treats Muslim minorities as second-class citizens" and "will not be implemented in Kerala" ETV Bharat/PTI. Kerala sought a stay in the Supreme Court on 17 March, and Vijayan led five rallies from 22 March South First.
Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister M K Stalin said on 12 March the state "will in no way allow space for the implementation of CAA" The News Minute. Actor Vijay's party called the Act "divisive" South First/PTI. BJP state chief K Annamalai said the state had no option but to implement a law passed by Parliament Deccan Herald.
Delhi. Students at Jamia Millia Islamia protested on 11 March, and the acting vice-chancellor said no protest would be allowed near the campus ETV Bharat/PTI. On 12 March Delhi Police detained scores of Delhi University students and took them to Burari police station, releasing them hours later. Claim · Students Students alleged police used force and tore women students' clothes Siasat. This page found no published police response to those allegations.
The Supreme Court challenge
On 12 March the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) asked the Supreme Court to stay the rules, calling them "manifestly arbitrary" and in breach of Articles 14 and 15. The DYFI, Saikia and MP Abdul Khaleque filed similar pleas DT Next. AASU already had a petition pending Business Standard/PTI.
On 19 March a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the pleas. Kapil Sibal argued that "Once you grant citizenship, you can't take it back." Government's position Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the CAA takes away no one's citizenship and that "Whether citizenship is granted or not petitioners will not be impacted." He refused to undertake that no citizenship would be granted meanwhile DT Next Tribune.
The court passed no stay, asked the Centre to reply by 8 April and listed the matter for 9 April. There were 237 petitions Tribune Bar and Bench. LiveLaw later reported the case was not listed again until 19 February 2026 LiveLaw.
Shah said on 14 March that the "CAA law will never be taken back" Business Today. He said "CAA will be implemented in Assam" except in the exempt Northeast areas, and that the NRC "has nothing to do with the CAA" Outlook.
Timeline
CM warns parties
Sarma says parties calling strikes against the CAA could lose registration Scroll.
Rules notified; copies burnt
AASU and 30 groups burn copies of the Act; UOFA calls a hartal; police serve notices at night Business Standard/PTI.
Hartal, effigies, campus protests
Hartal draws a limited response; Sarma's resignation pledge; DU students detained in Delhi Siasat/PTI ETV Bharat Siasat.
No stay from Supreme Court
Court seeks the Centre's reply, lists the case for 9 April Bar and Bench.
Final hearing scheduled
Supreme Court lists the challenge for 5 to 12 May 2026 LiveLaw.
Both accounts
Protesters' account
AASU, the AJP, AJYCP and the opposition parties say the CAA breaks the Assam Accord's 1971 cut-off and threatens Assamese "language, literature, culture and identity". They call the exemptions for parts of the Northeast unfair to the rest of Assam and say they will protest peacefully while fighting in court Scroll. The Congress called the police notices political Siasat/PTI. Opponents elsewhere object chiefly to the exclusion of Muslims.
Police and government account
The Assam Police said the notices were meant to protect public property and lives, citing court rulings against bandhs ETV Bharat. The Centre says the CAA gives citizenship to persecuted minorities and takes it from no one. Shah said minorities need not fear and that Muslims can still apply under existing law All India Radio. Sarma said the application numbers would show the fears were misplaced.
Outcome
- Deaths and arrests: None of the reports reviewed recorded deaths in the March 2024 protests. Police detained KMSS activists in Sivasagar and Delhi University students in Delhi; no count was published.
- Hartal: Observed in a few districts only, per PTI. No case against the parties' leaders over it was found in reports reviewed.
- Court: No interim stay on the rules or on grants of citizenship.
- Policy: The rules stayed in force. The Home Secretary handed the first 14 certificates to applicants in Delhi on 15 May 2024; others were emailed All India Radio.
Where things stand
Applications in Assam. In July 2024 Sarma said only eight people in Assam had applied and two had attended interviews. "This abysmally low number... is a bit surprising for us also," he said, adding that many Hindu Bengali families preferred to fight their cases before Foreigners Tribunals Business Standard/PTI. In September 2025 he said 12 people had applied and three had been granted citizenship ETV Bharat.
Grants. In August 2024 Dulon Das, a Silchar resident who came from Sylhet in 1988, became the first person in Assam granted citizenship under the CAA. Scroll reported that Das had not applied for the NRC, the condition in Sarma's resignation pledge; his lawyer said he applied because he feared being declared stateless. The AJP's Lurinjyoti Gogoi called the grant "vote-bank politics" Scroll. Sarma was still chief minister in September 2025. Two more people were granted citizenship in December 2025, bringing Assam's total to four, according to their lawyer Scroll. In March 2026 a woman whom a Foreigners Tribunal had declared a foreigner, and who had spent about two years in detention, was granted citizenship under the Act NewsGram.
Renewed protest. In September 2025 the Home Ministry's Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 let the same six communities who arrived by 31 December 2024 stay without passports. AASU president Utpal Sarma called it "even more dangerous than CAA"; the chief minister called the criticism "unnecessary fear-mongering" ETV Bharat.
Supreme Court. On 19 February 2026 a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant scheduled final hearings for 5 to 12 May 2026 in 242 petitions against the Act and the rules. It said the Assam and Tripura cases, which raise the Assam Accord and Section 6A, would be heard separately after the main case Verdictum LiveLaw. This record found no reporting on the outcome of the May sittings or any judgment as of 12 October 2026.
Questions people ask
When were the CAA rules notified?
On 11 March 2024, more than four years after Parliament passed the Act in December 2019. Applications are made online through a Home Ministry portal.
Was the 12 March 2024 Assam hartal illegal?
The Assam Police said so in notices citing Gauhati High Court and Supreme Court rulings against bandhs and blockades, and ordered it withdrawn. No court ruled on this specific hartal. PTI reported it drew a limited response.
Did Himanta Biswa Sarma resign over the CAA?
No. He pledged on 12 March 2024 to resign if anyone who had not applied for the NRC got citizenship. Scroll reported that the first person granted citizenship in Assam had not applied for the NRC. Sarma did not resign.
Did the Supreme Court stay the CAA rules?
No. On 19 March 2024 it declined an interim stay. In February 2026 it scheduled final hearings for May 2026, with Assam and Tripura cases to be heard separately.
How many people in Assam got citizenship under the CAA?
Four by December 2025, according to a lawyer for the applicants, and at least one more in March 2026. The chief minister said in September 2025 that only 12 people in Assam had applied.
Sources
- Scroll: Assam opposition parties, student unions launch protests as Centre notifies CAA rules, 12 Mar 2024
- Business Standard: Govt notifies rules for implementation of CAA ahead of election dates, 11 Mar 2024
- Business Standard/PTI: CAA copies burnt, strike announced in Assam as govt notifies rules, 11 Mar 2024
- ETV Bharat/PTI: AASU, 30 organisations to burn copies of CAA across Assam, 11 Mar 2024
- ETV Bharat: Assam Police sends legal notice to 16 opposition parties over 'Sarbatmak Hartal', 12 Mar 2024
- Sentinel Assam: KMSS activists detained in Sivasagar amid anti-CAA protests, 12 Mar 2024
- Siasat/PTI: Anti-CAA protests erupt in Assam, 12 Mar 2024
- NE Now: Protests across Assam; hartal draws weak response, 12 Mar 2024
- ETV Bharat: Will resign if one person who has not applied for NRC gets citizenship, says Assam CM, 12 Mar 2024
- SabrangIndia: Gauhati University under lockdown as CAA protests spread, 13 Mar 2024
- Careers360/PTI: Assam students' union to hold satyagraha against CAA today, 13 Mar 2024
- Deccan Herald: Assam DGP urges people to resolve issues through peaceful means, 14 Mar 2024
- Siasat/PTI: Assam will register 3-5 lakh applications under CAA, says Himanta, 18 Mar 2024
- The News Minute: Kerala witnesses protests by DYFI, Youth Congress, 12 Mar 2024
- ETV Bharat/PTI: CAA will not be implemented in Kerala, says Pinarayi Vijayan, 11 Mar 2024
- South First: Pinarayi Vijayan spearheads anti-CAA rallies across Kerala, 22 Mar 2024
- The News Minute: CAA will not be implemented in Tamil Nadu, says CM Stalin, 12 Mar 2024
- Deccan Herald: Tamil Nadu government will not implement CAA, says Stalin, 12 Mar 2024
- South First/PTI: Actor Vijay urges DMK regime not to implement 'divisive' CAA, 12 Mar 2024
- ETV Bharat/PTI: Protests erupt in Jamia Millia Islamia over implementation of CAA, 11 Mar 2024
- Siasat: Cops use force against Delhi University students protesting against CAA, 13 Mar 2024
- Business Today: 'Will never compromise on it': Amit Shah on CAA, 14 Mar 2024
- Outlook: 'CAA will never be taken back', says Amit Shah, 14 Mar 2024
- All India Radio: CAA will not snatch away citizenship from anyone, says Home Minister, 14 Mar 2024
- DT Next: SC seeks Centre's reply on pleas seeking stay on CAA Rules 2024, 19 Mar 2024
- Tribune: Supreme Court asks Centre to respond to pleas seeking stay on CAA, 19 Mar 2024
- Bar and Bench: Supreme Court seeks Centre's response on plea to stay CAA Rules; no interim stay, 19 Mar 2024
- Onmanorama/PTI: First set of citizenship certificates issued to 14 people, 15 May 2024
- All India Radio: Centre issues first set of citizenship certificates under CAA, 15 May 2024
- Business Standard/PTI: Only eight applied for citizenship under CAA in Assam, says CM, 15 Jul 2024
- Scroll: Man who arrived in 1988 from Bangladesh becomes first person in Assam to get citizenship under CAA, 15 Aug 2024
- ETV Bharat: Assam CM slams 'fear mongering' over Centre's new citizenship order, 4 Sept 2025
- Scroll: Assam: Two persons granted citizenship under CAA, 14 Dec 2025
- LiveLaw: Supreme Court to start hearing petitions challenging CAA from May 5, 19 Feb 2026
- Verdictum: Supreme Court will hear challenge to CAA from May 5, 19 Feb 2026
- NewsGram: Assam woman becomes first declared foreigner to receive citizenship under CAA, 8 Mar 2026