Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Critical Studies of Inter-Asian Societies (2021) 2709-5479 Constitution provides the 'right to equality (both citizens and non-citizen) before the law under Article 14 and 'equal protection of law' under Article 15, which prohibits discrimination, including discrimination based on religion, race, and class (Shitole, 2020). The protection of citizens and non-citizens can be explicitly seen in India's Constitution's preamble (justice, liberty, and equality). On the one hand, no legislation should be unconstitutional and unjustified based on the grounds of religion, race, and class. On the other hand, the classification must not be based on "palpable arbitrariness" rather based on "an intelligible principle having a reasonable relation to the object which the legislature seeks to attain" (Chandrachud, 2020, 23). Mihika Poddar writes, "the differentiation might be permissible if based on substantial factual difference, but the aims cannot be arbitrary, capricious, despotic or in conflict with the essential oneness and dignity of humankind" (Poddar, 2018, 9). Instead, the Act states contrary elements of the dignity of the Constitution of India without any substantial factual difference. That is why Alam Bhat expressed his concern that this Act violates India's Constitution because the classification it adopts is clearly unjustified, unfair, and unconstitutional (Bhat, 2019). However, Abhinav Chandrachud also found this Act's provisions against the backdrop of the citizenship provisions of the Indian Constitution (Chandrachud, 2020). He stated four persuasive arguments that the Act is unconstitutional, unfair, and unjustified. First, it includes six religious communities (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian) but turns a blind eye towards other religious communities. Second, the inclusion of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the exclusion of neighbouring countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, or the non-neighbouring countries. Third, the limitation of the time period in the Act's proviso. Fourth, the relaxation in residence requirements. The newly enacted Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, had violent consequences in which people's dissatisfaction was seen explicitly in nationwide protests to oppose the enactment of this Act. Aggressive demonstrations shook several parts of the country. The issue of unconstitutionality and the religious factor in the Act provoked political oppositions, educational institutions, civil society, and Muslim organizations (The Hindu, 2019a). The nationwide protests started in Assam and spread to Delhi, Tripura, Mangalore, Bangalore, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Chennai, Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad. The solidarity with the protesters was seen not only in India but also overseas (Acharjee, 2020). The demonstrations intensified when anonymous mobs targeted respected institutions such as Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the Aligarh Muslim University (The Hindu, 2019b). The leaders of the student federation were brutally assaulted, and the institutions were vandalized. And more than 200 students were injured and 100 detained by the police (Sangeetha & Jacob, 2020). The States of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Telangana, Panjab, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry have vociferously declared that the Act will not be implemented in these states; which eventually resulted in a tug-of-war between the Centre and the States (Sangeetha & Jacob, 2020). As a result, this Act not only gave rise to negative feelings among non-citizens in India but also questioned their protection. In addition, Mihika Poddar (2018) noticed another issue that the Act breaches India's obligation for non-discrimination under the covenant of international laws, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Moreover, it is also incompatible with Article 51(c) of the Indian Constitution, which requires India to respect its international obligations (Poddar, 2018). Under the law of the right to equality, Article 14 in India's Constitution, no legislation should be unconstitutional and unjustified under religious grounds. To eliminate other religious communities on the Act's proviso © 2021 Conflict, Justice, Decolonization: Critical Studies of Inter-Asian Societies 4 Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3898542