The Northeastern UniversitiesStudents' group has called for a total shutdown of all the universities andcolleges in the region on January 22, Wednesday in view of the Supreme Court hearingon the petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The Supreme Court has scheduled thehearing of around 72 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of theCAA. Earlier, there were 59 petitioners who had opposed the amended Act,however, the number grew, with protests rising countrywide.

The Northeast Universities Students'fraternity has called for the bandh of the higher educational institutionshoping that during the hearing, the apex court will address the impact of the CAAon the indigenous people of the Northeast states.

It may be mentioned here that the universities in the Northeast, Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Tezpur University, Assam Women's University (AWU), Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Nagaland University, Rajiv Gandhi University, etc. will remain closed on Wednesday.

The Citizenship Act has triggered massive protests citing its adverse effects on the indigenous people's rights and culture in the long run. Assam has been spearheading the agitation, with the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) in the lead. The North East Students' Organisation (NESO) has also been opposing the CAA.