Marches and rallies are planned in major cities such as the capital New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, despite strict bans on large public gatherings in place in several cities -- raising the possibility of violence.
On Thursday, local media reported that security was tight in the southern city of Bengaluru ahead of planned civil action. In New Delhi, several metro stations have been closed in areas near to the planned marches, with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation citing "sudden safety and security reasons."
Delhi police could be seen barricading the entrance to the city's iconic Red Fort Thursday morning, where a march is scheduled to take place.
Fueling the protests is nation-wide anger over the Citizenship Amendment Act, which was signed into law last week. The law promises to fast-track Indian citizenship for religious minorities from three neighboring countries who arrived before 2015 -- but not if they are Muslim.
Critics say the law is unconstitutional as it bases citizenship on a person's religion and would further marginalize India's 200-million strong Muslim community.
On Thursday, police in New Delhi imposed a colonial-era law that prevents gatherings of four or more people -- known as Section 144 -- around the Red Fort ahead of the protest.
The move came after police denied permission for the march on Wednesday.
Organizers are calling for people to gather regardless. "Section 144 being imposed by the police is an attempt to thwart our march. This will not deter us. We will gather there for our march," Yogendra Yadav, founder of Swaraj Abhiyaan, a group that organized the march told CNN.
Section 144 has also been imposed in Bengalaru for two days from Thursday to prevent demonstrations, according to Bhaskar Rao, the city's police commissioner.
A similar ban on public gatherings has also been rolled out across the entire state of Uttar Pradesh -- India's largest and most populous.
The restrictions come after ongoing protests against the citizenship law have turned violent in recent days, with police and protesters involved in street clashes.
Hundreds of people were injured and dozens arrested on Sunday after police stormed a university campus in New Delhi, firing tear gas. And on Tuesday further violent clashes between protesters and police broke out in the district of North East Delhi.
In the northeastern state of Assam ongoing protests have turned deadly, with at least five people killed, police said.
Protests in the northeast are different, however. Many indigenous groups there fear that giving citizenship to large numbers of immigrants would change the unique ethnic make-up of the region and their way of life, regardless of religion.
The widespread civil action comes a day after India's Supreme Court refused to halt implementation of the citizenship law, though it will hear a raft of petitions that question the law's constitutionality.
"It hurts the spirit of India. We are going to fight this till the end," said Abhishek Manu Sanghvi, a senior leader from India's main opposition Congress Party on Wednesday.
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