I've been receiving several forwards on WhatsApp about the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 and the ensuing protests. Majority of those who forwarded the messages haven't gone through the original text of the Act or its contents. Tired of replying to everyone personally, my friend suggested me to put my views on a blog post and allay the fears. Hence the post.
What is all the fuss about?
Everything comes down to one paragraph and a few words used in the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019. Here is the paragraph:
"2. In the Citizenship Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 2, in sub-section (1), in clause (b), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— "Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act;".
Rest of the act can be accessed here: http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/214646.pdf
What it says:
- This amendment is only and only limited to, and deals with illegal migrants from THREE NATIONS - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
- It shall not treat the migrants of certain communities(Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian) as illegal.
- And this applies to only those who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December 2014.
The controversies -
Why the names of particular communities are mentioned, why not simply the word minority?
- The word 'Minority' is not defined by the Constitution Of India. Hence, for administrative purposes, the clear definition will avoid confusion and any possible future litigations.
Why are people belonging to the Islamic Community are being denied citizenship?
- The act does not deny citizenship to anyone. All the procedures to apply for citizenship and naturalization remain the same as before. The bill only recognises the persons from persecuted communities as not illegal migrants.
But why to categorise based on religion?
- It is an open fact that the above-mentioned communities are subjected to religious persecution in our neighbouring countries. They have nowhere to go but India. India has given shelter to the persecuted people since the times unknown. Aisa Bibi Blasphemy Case will serve as an example of the suppression faced by minorities in those Nations.
- And the important thing to notice here is that the Act is limited only to 3 nations and not all the regions. Of course, it will be worded differently when we might address the migrations from other countries like Nepal, Srilanka, and Myanmar.
Is the act against the Muslims of India?
- Well, just read the act again! It says nothing about the people who are already the citizens of India. In the Home Minister's own words - "This bill gives the citizenship but, does not take it away."
Is this against the Constitution Of India?
- Article 15 of the Indian constitution states that "The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them."
(Read Article 15 here - https://indiankanoon.org/doc/609295/)
- Article 15 applies only to the Citizens of India and not to the foreign nationals.
- Similarly, the rights under articles 16, 19, 29 and 30 are only available to Indian citizens.
- Hence, it is neither against the citizens nor the Constitution of India.
This bill is not against any community in India or any other nation. It only derecognises people belonging to certain communities as illegal. A simple derecognition does not mean a person is being granted citizenship or being naturalised. All the migrants(irrespective of the community) have to go through the same procedures for acquiring citizenship.
Why is North East against this Act?
- As we all know, the population of North-Eastern India is mostly of tribal origin. Tribals and the other cultural communities of NE have long resisted the influence of foreign population on their traditions. Given that the Northeastern regions are sparsely populated, these communities genuinely fear that they may lose the say in the political affairs if the migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh are allowed to settle, who may outnumber the native communities.
- Although the bill mentions that its provisions shall not be applied to 'tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.' the Central government has a humungous task ahead to reach out to the public to allay their fears.
- So, the issue with the NE states is not about the categorisation of communities but the migrants itself.
What is NRC about?
- National Register of Citizens of India contains the names and relevant information for the identification of Indian citizens, maintained by the Government of India.
- It was first compiled in 1951 following the first National Census after Independence and never has been updated since then.
- The Supreme Court Of India has ordered its revision in the state of Assam to recognise the illegal migrants who entered the state after the midnight of 24 March 1971. This was done to implement the terms of Assam accord and the subsequent amendments to the citizenship act 1955.
- Union Home Minister has recently stated that the nationwide revision of NRC would be carried out soon.
- This process is only to update the records that remained static since 1951 and also to identify the illegal migrants.
- We need not compare this exercise to the one that took place in Assam as the conditions vary from state to state and the purpose too!
Will Muslims lose citizenship after NRC and hence be detained in the detention camps and then persecuted like Jews in Germany? (I read this in one of the forwards I received)
- Seriously?! Come on, this is India! That's never gonna happen here. People sitting at the helm are not fools to do such stupid things and face the flak of the International community and eventually lose an election/s.
Unfortunately, most of the people participating in violent protests have not gone through the Act and its background and are politically provoked by the fake propaganda material doing rounds on social media. I can say this with certain confidence because I've received such messages from some such protestors!
DO NOT SPREAD THE FAKE NEWS!
In simple words, the Act deals with the foreigners of 3 nations and not the Indian citizens and NRC is to identify the illegal migrants, we need not mix up both the topics and create an unnecessary fuss. Think wisely, do not become the scapegoats of political snakes and ladders!
As a quizzer, I'm concerned about one of my quizzer friends struck in the train which is delayed over 8 hours. He might miss the quiz he is travelling for. Stop the protests, let the trains run on time! 😁😉
All the above-mentioned points are my personal opinions. Please feel free to counter my points in the comments section.
Thanks to my friend from Bengaluru for encouraging me to write this. She may not agree with my views here though!