Abe’s India Visit Postponed as Violent Protests Intensify

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will not visit India as planned next week amid violent protests in India’s northeast over a new citizenship law.

Abe was scheduled to begin his visit on Sunday and had been slated to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Assam, one of the regions where demonstrations have turned violent. The talks would have been the 16th between the two leaders and their deferral will be a blow to Abe’s policy of cultivating ties with India to balance out China’s growing power in the region.

“Both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement.

India’s new Citizenship Amendment Bill that was approved on Wednesday changed the rules governing the granting of citizenship to undocumented migrants to include religion as a criterion. It bars undocumented Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan from seeking citizenship, while allowing their counterparts from other religions to do so.

Citizenship Law Based on Religion Sparks Fear Across India

In recent days, angry protests have erupted in Assam with thousands clashing with police amid concerns the new laws may lead to an influx of migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. There have also been demonstrations in other northeastern states including Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura, forcing the government to send in hundreds of soldiers to aid local police.

When asked whether the trip would go ahead, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said earlier Friday that there was a need to pay close attention to local conditions.

--With assistance from Emi Nobuhiro.

To contact the reporter on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Muneeza Naqvi, Ruth Pollard

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