Moon Desk: LAST week (March 11), in an anti-Muslim move, based on religious stratification and bigotry, the Hindutva-run government in New Delhi chauvinistically announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), an ethnically polarized law that was passed by Parliament in 2019, albeit remained unforced until now.
The controversial CAA – whose content in India’s Lok Sabha had trigged protests across the country five years ago over allegations of an anti-Muslim hatred and prejudice– comes closely at a time when BJP’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to seek a third term in office through national elections. Pakistan’s Foreign Office criticized this controversial citizenship law on religious minorities in neighbouring Muslim countries, saying it differentiated among people on the basis of their faith.
Today, India under the Narendra Modi regime is fully practicing the policies– of ultra-nationalism and fascism–which are antitheses to the norms of any democratic government or society. Per se, by nurturing discrimination–on the basis of colour, religion, caste and gender, India is fostering apartheid against Muslim minorities. Critics of the CAA say it is exclusionary and violates the secular principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination against citizens on religious grounds.
For instance, the new law does not cover those fleeing persecution in non-Muslim majority countries, including Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. Given the gravity of this apartheid-driven political trajectory of the Modi’s Government, on Twitter, sociologist Nandini Sundar spoke of apartheid against Muslims in India. Spanish jurist Alfons López Tena described the current situation in India “like the apartheid in South Africa.”Modi’s Hindutva state has introduced a new system of religious stratification in India, which is by all means a dangerous anti-peace notion in the South Asian region.
Moreover, Indian opposition parties –led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor–are set to challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the Supreme Court, labeling it as ‘unconstitutional.’ Tharoor affirmed that if the INDIA alliance, including the Congress party, comes to power, they will repeal the CAA, emphasizing that their struggle is for a nation inclusive of all religions.
Notably, following protests within India, the international community, including the United Nations, the United States and Amnesty International, has raised serious reservations regarding the CAA. The United Nations Human Rights Commission labeled the Act as a violation of India’s human rights laws.
Expressing concerns, the spokesperson of the US State Department emphasized the importance of religious freedom and equal treatment for all minorities under the law. They stated that the US is closely monitoring the implementation of the law by the Indian Government.
