A large number of Indian-Americans gathered around the statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed in front of the Indian Embassy here and held a peaceful demonstration against the amended Citizenship Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till 31 December, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship.
'We are here for only a single purpose. That purpose is civil rights and religious freedom and nothing more than that,' Indian-American Mike Ghouse from the Washington-based non-governmental organisation Centre for Pluralism told the gathering, which included women, children and students.
