WATCH: Hindus, Sikhs protect Muslims offering prayers during India protests

Video of heartwarming gesture goes viral amid raging protests against controversial citizenship law

Tens of thousands of people in India are protesting against a new citizenship law that is seen as anti-Muslim and clashes between police and demonstrators continued on Friday.

Three protesters were shot dead on Thursday, taking the death toll to nine in the wave of anger that is emerging as a major challenge to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



Amid all the chaos, social media has been abuzz with videos of the massive protests.

One such video doing the rounds offers up a heartwarming scene as it shows a group of Hindus and Sikhs forming a human chain to shield Muslims offering prayers.

The video was captured during the protests outside Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi and shared by an Indian journalist.

#JamiaMilliaUniversity while Muslims read namaz Hindus, Sikhs form a human chain to shield them. This while protestors protest against CAA /NRC in national capital pic.twitter.com/Uu17V22ev4

— Aishwarya Paliwal (@AishPaliwal) December 19, 2019

The contentious citizenship law seeks to make Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, eligible for Indian citizenship, but Muslims are the only community to be excluded.