India protests .. The number of victims rises and Modi meets his government to discuss the crisis

The death toll in violent confrontations between police and protesters in India has risen, against the backdrop of ongoing protests about a week ago against the nationality law that deprives Muslim migrants of naturalization, while the Prime Minister held a meeting with members of his government to discuss the security situation.

Reuters reported that the total number of dead since the outbreak of the protests is at least 14 people, while the French Press Agency reported that the number reached twenty people.

The number of victims increased after violent clashes broke out Friday in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.

Most of the dead were reported to have been shot, while an eight-year-old boy was killed by a stampede.

Protests against the new law continued on Saturday despite the government imposing a curfew in several areas, cutting off communications and the Internet, and cracking down on demonstrations.

Demonstrations took place today in the city of Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu in the south of the country, and the city of Patna in the state of Bihar, east of the country.

Police installed barricades in Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi, an area known as a center of protests in recent years.

Violent clashes in a tense state
Dozens were injured in the violent clashes in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which has often seen clashes between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority.

Human rights activists in Uttar Pradesh said that state police were storming their homes and offices, to prevent them from planning further demonstrations.

State police spokesman Sheresh Chandra told the French Press Agency that ten people were shot dead on Friday.

In the heart of the Indian capital, New Delhi, street clashes erupted Friday evening, as police fired water cannons, chased protesters who chanted anti-Modi slogans and threw stones at security agents at the Delhi Gate in the old Delhi district.

A journalist at Agence France-Presse said that he saw protesters - including children - on the spot, who were being detained and beaten by the police.

Government meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with members of his government to discuss the security situation in the country against the backdrop of escalating protests.

The Reuters news agency quoted a senior government official - who asked not to be named - that "the Prime Minister called for a meeting of the entire Federation Council of Ministers to assess the current situation as a result of violent protests in many parts of the country over the amendment of the citizenship law."

This public outrage over the law - which the Hindu national government pushed to parliament on December 11 - is the strongest protest in India since Moody's first election in 2014, and parliament passed the law last week.

The law allows the Indian government to grant citizenship to millions of non-Muslim immigrants from three neighboring countries, but opponents of the law say it is part of the Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Moody's program to reshape India as a Hindu nation. Which Modi party strongly denied.

The opponents assert that the exclusion of Muslims is biased, and that granting citizenship based on religion undermines the secular constitution.

Suppressing protests
To crack down on the protests, the authorities rushed to impose a state of emergency, block the Internet, cut off mobile phone services, and close restaurants and shops in several cities across the country.

During the protests, police fired shots and tear gas, chased protesters with batons, and arrested hundreds of people across the country, amid increasing violence.

Despite the United Nations and the United States expressing concern about the recent events in India, Modi insists that his government does not aim to marginalize Muslims, as he stated this week that the new law "does not affect any Indian citizen, whatever his religion."