Concerns regarding India’s religion-based citizenship bill are raised by the US and UN
Concerns over a controversial religion-based Indian citizenship bill were raised by the US government and the UN on Tuesday. The UN described the measure as “fundamentally discriminatory in nature.”
The 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which the Indian government rushed to enact on Monday, has drawn criticism from rights campaigners. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claim it discriminates against Muslims.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing to implement the law, which makes it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—three countries in South Asia with a majority of Muslims to obtain Indian citizenship, just weeks before Indian elections.
Rights organizations point out that the rule excludes neighboring countries whose Muslims make up a minority, such as Myanmar’s Rohingyas, as well as Muslim minority groups like Shia Muslims from those nations.
An official from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights told, “As we stated in 2019, we are concerned that India Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA) is fundamentally discriminatory in nature and in breach of India’s international human rights obligations.”
The office was researching whether the bill’s implementation guidelines adhere to international human rights law, he continued.
“We express concern with the March 11 announcement of the Citizenship Amendment Act. A separate statement from the US State Department , “We are closely monitoring how this act will be implemented.”
“Equal treatment under the law for all communities and respect for religious freedom are fundamental democratic principles,” the State Department spokesman continued in an email.
The bill, together with a planned national registry of people, according to activists and rights advocates, may discriminate against India’s 200 million Muslims, the third-largest Muslim community in the world. In several border states, there is concern that the government may deprive Muslims without proper documentation of their citizenship. Following the law’s passing in 2019 and the outbreak of demonstrations and sectarian violence in New Delhi and other places, the Modi administration chose not to enforce it. Days of fighting resulted in hundreds of injuries and many fatalities.
The Indian government argues that the law was necessary to support minority who were being persecuted in nearby countries with a majority of Muslims, and disputes that it is anti-Muslim. It has labeled the previous demonstrations as being driven by politics. A request for comment on the responses from the UN human rights office and the State Department was not immediately answered by the Indian embassy in Washington.
Rights organizations claim that after Modi took office as prime minister in 2014, Muslims have been mistreated. In addition to this law, they cite the revocation of Kashmir’s special status in 2019, the demolition of Muslim-owned buildings to make place for unlawful development, and the prohibition on the hijab in Karnataka schools during the BJP’s tenure there.
According to Modi’s administration, all Indians would profit from its programs, which it claims are free from minority oppression.
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