Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma returns Padma Shri to protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill
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Citing that the bill was against the interest of the people of north-east, the indigenous people of Manipur, the filmmaker said returning the award was the best way to protest against the bill.
Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma on Sunday returned the fourth highest civilian award in India, the Padma Shri, to show his protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016.
Citing that the bill was against the interest of the people of north-east, the indigenous people of Manipur, the filmmaker said returning the award was the best way to protest against the bill.
The bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8 seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 and aims to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who entered India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before December 31, 2014.
Filmmaker Aribam Shyam Sharma returns his 2006 Padma Shri award in protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill. pic.twitter.com/zJ4QQlK9Ze
— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2019
The Bill has led to a series of protests in different north-eastern states since its passage.