The Indian government has begun implementing a citizenship law that has been criticised for discriminating against Muslims, after delaying it for more than four years.
"The Modi government has announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). This is an integral part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s 2019 manifesto. It will pave the way for persecuted people to seek citizenship in India," a spokesperson for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office said on March 11, referring to the manifesto of the ruling BIJ party after its victory in the 2019 general election.
Under the CAA, people from minority communities in the Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will be granted Indian citizenship if they arrive in the country before December 2014. These communities include Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. Muslims in the three countries, on the other hand, are excluded from the citizenship provision under the law.
The CAA was passed by the Indian parliament in December 2019, but its implementation was delayed after large-scale protests. Violence during the protests left more than 100 people dead.
Some activists protest against the CAA in Assam state on March 11. Photo: AFP
Muslim groups say the law, along with a national register, could discriminate against India’s more than 200 million Muslims. They say the government could strip citizenship from undocumented Muslims in border states.
The Modi government denies the CAA is anti-Muslim, saying it is needed to help “persecuted” religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries. India is home to the world’s third-largest Muslim population.
The Indian government has stressed that the CAA is intended to confer citizenship, not to strip it from anyone. The Modi government has also accused previous protests against the CAA of being politically motivated.
The move comes as India prepares to hold general elections in May. Polls show Prime Minister Modi, in power since 2014, will easily win re-election for another term.
The opposition Congress Party on March 11 accused the Modi government of having political motives for announcing the law ahead of the election.
"After nine extensions to the notification of the rules, the Indian government's choice of timing just before the elections is clearly aimed at creating divisions on the issue, especially in West Bengal and Assam," Congress party spokesman Jairam Ramesh wrote on social media X.
The eastern states of West Bengal and Assam are Muslim-majority areas in India and have been the scene of anti-CAA protests in the past. Muslims there fear that the government could use the law to declare them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and strip them of their Indian citizenship.
Pham Giang (According to Reuters, AFP )
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