As an Indian citizen myself,I have been quite agitated in the last few days regarding the new bill passed by the Indian Govt which infact is not a Bill anymore (CAB), it’s been passed by both Houses of Parliament and it is now an Act (CAA).People have been writing to me expressing their concern and asking me about India.
I say that India is my beloved country which is a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC country in which People of all religion and Creed live in harmony. India is not what the 4% hindutva thinks it to be.
The term ‘Secular’ was incorporated in the Preamble by 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976 which means that all the religions in India get equal respect, protection and support from the state. But Last week, the CAB was signed into law. The new bill will expedite citizenship for six religious minorities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, if the individuals arrived before 2015.
What is NRC?
At its core, the NRC is an official record of those who are legal Indian citizens. It includes demographic information about all those individuals who qualify as citizens of India as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India and since then it has not been updated until recently.
So far, such a database has only been maintained for the state of Assam. However, on November 20, Home Minister Amit Shah declared during a parliamentary session that the register would be extended to the entire country.
Now let’s look at what happened in Assam when the NRC was rolled out. These are the words of Harsh Mander, who was an IAS officer during the implementation of NRC in Assam and resigned when the CAB became an Act. “I have witnessed the incredible levels of suffering created by the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Impoverished rural people, often landless and unlettered, staked all their meagre belongings and many years to gather documents to prove that they were citizens. These certificates of birth, schooling, land-ownership and voters’ lists dating back several decades are such that most of us would find impossible to muster. Even a small discrepancy in spelling was sufficient for these documents to be rejected. The consequences of such rejection were catastrophic. You could be sent to detention centres for years, with no hope of release. Finding names missing from the NRC lists, or when loved ones were exiled to detention centres, several committed suicide in despair.”
19 lakh (1.9 million) people were not able to prove their citizenship. Right now, we’re still talking about human beings across caste, creed and colour. In fact, out of these 1.9 million people, only less than one-third were found to be Muslims.
It is this that the CAA will change. In the nationwide NRC declared by Union home minister Amit Shah, now undocumented people of any religious identity EXCEPT Muslim will be treated as refugees and given citizenship. Only undocumented Muslims will be treated as illegal immigrants, carted away to detention centres and in all likelihood divested of all citizenship rights — of voting, land ownership and social security. This is only Assam; extrapolate this across the country! Millions of Muslims, from the poorest sections of our country, who are unable to produce the necessary documents, are going to get stuffed into detention centres all over India.
The process that has been devised is like a funnel. At the top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) there’s all of us. In the middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) there’s everyone unable to prove (and unable to afford to buy the necessary papers to prove) their citizenship. Right at the bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) there’s only the Muslims who can’t prove (and can’t afford to buy the necessary papers to prove) their citizenship.
Going from TOFU to MOFU is itself going to be a herculean, massively expensive and massively corrupt process. Do you remember demonetization? The people that did the jugaar got away scot free, and the politicians, middle men and some corrupt bankers got rich. How will this be different? Does India have the money to carry out this exercise? Has anyone budgeted it? Has anyone estimated the expense? Has anyone planned anything except meaningless, jingoistic, rhetorical statements?
And then, after hundreds of thousands of crores have been spent, and all 1.3 billion of us have been whetted by the powers that be, there will be a final report card, leaving millions of people at the bottom of the funnel, who will be carted away to detention centres. Every single one of those people will be Muslim, because that is what this evil Act has been designed to do.
People of All Faith Support Muslims in India
For the first time, in the history of Free India, a very specific section of the country is being openly targeted.This is the response of the People of India-
People from All States support Muslims
Regarding the Remark of Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid
Regarding the Remark of Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid that CAA has nothing to do with Indian Muslims I would like to say that before pointing a fingers at our scholars,We should know that the BJP goons have lots of Power and they do threat People for their life. And Allah knows best.
People read Constitution of India to the government who has forgot it all.
Over 10,000 signatories issued a statement condemning “police brutality
Over 10,000 signatories issued a statement condemning “police brutality” at Jamia Millia and Aligarh Muslim University, saying the “brutalization of students and the attack on universities is against the fundamental norms of a democratic society”.
“We refuse to remain silent at the violence unleashed on our colleagues (students, staff, and faculty) peacefully protesting the imposition of a discriminatory and unjust law,” they said, referring to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Protests have broken out across the country against the Act, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship only to non-Muslims fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
“It contravenes the right to equality and secular citizenship enshrined in the Indian constitution. On the 15th at JMIU, police fired tear gas shells, entered hostels and attacked students studying in the library and praying in the mosque. Over 200 students have been severely injured, many who are in critical condition. Because of the blanket curfew and internet blockage imposed at AMU, we fear a similar situation of violence is unfolding, without any recourse to the press or public,” the statement says.
They said the police’s action on “peaceful demonstration and gathering of citizens” is blatantly illegal under the Constitution of India. “We stand in unconditional solidarity with the students, faculty and staff of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, and express our horror at this violent police and state action,” they said.
This is the latest of many statements issued by academics, alumni, civil society and students criticising the police and standing in solidarity with the students who are protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The complete statement, with the full list of signatories, has been attached below.
Statement Condemning Police… by The Wire on Scribd
Keep India in Your Duas.
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