Civilized World Condemns Modi Regime’s Attempt to Impose Anti-Muslim Law
Civilized World Condemns Modi Regime’s Attempt to Impose Anti-Muslim Law
Although the Modi government had postponed the implementation of CAA, the peaceful protesters were attacked by the police and miscreants mercilessly and forced to vacate protest sites in Delhi.
By Rakesh Raman
The secular communities in the advanced parts of the civilized world are raising concerns over the attempt by the government of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi to impose a controversial anti-Muslim legislation.
Christened the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the new law will allow persecuted non-Muslim religious minorities – such as Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs who came before 2015 as refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan – to seek citizenship in India.
Since Muslims are excluded from this citizenship benefit, the CAA law violates the spirit of the Indian Constitution which promotes secularism or prohibits any discrimination on the basis of religion.
The Modi regime which blatantly politicizes religion for electoral gains insists that Muslims coming from other countries can follow the traditional mechanism to seek citizenship. However, the regime fails to clarify why Muslims are excluded from CAA.
Although the CAA law was passed in 2019, the Modi government had deferred its promulgation as massive protests were held across the country to get CAA repealed.
A March 12 report by Reuters states that the U.S. government and the United Nations have expressed concerns about India’s religion-based citizenship law, which has been described as “fundamentally discriminatory in nature.” The report also cites reactions from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International which said CAA discriminates against Muslims.
Protests against the CAA have already started in some states. According to a BBC report of March 12, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) gave a call for statewide shutdown and the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala has opposed the anti-Muslim law.
The BBC report quotes Kerala chief minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan who said CAA divides people, incites communal sentiments, and undermines the fundamental principles of the Constitution and added that the law would not be implemented in his state.
In 2020, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had decided to file an Intervention Application in the Supreme Court of India over the CAA. Then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet repeatedly expressed her concerns over the increasing human rights violations being committed by the Modi government.
Although the Modi government had postponed the implementation of CAA, the peaceful protesters were attacked by the police and miscreants mercilessly and forced to vacate protest sites in Delhi.
A fact-finding committee – headed by a former Supreme Court judge Madan B. Lokur – concluded in its report that Delhi Police colluded with criminal elements to commit a pogrom against Muslims in 2020.
The report, “Uncertain Justice: A Citizens Committee Report on the North East Delhi Violence 2020” released in October 2022 states that Delhi Police was complicit in violence against Muslims and behaved as an active party in the riots.
The report adds that due to lack of professionalism, Delhi Police advanced the political narrative of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of PM Modi to attack anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protesters.
It is largely believed that the Modi government has announced the implementation of CAA just a couple of months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election so that the BJP could woo Hindu voters by showing its hate for Mulsims.
However, all hate campaigns of Modi and BJP are only a camouflage to hide the expected manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections, as there are repeated complaints about the fraudulent use of EVMs by BJP to win elections deceptively. [ You can click here to visit the site that explains the EVM issues. ]
Now, there may be some sporadic protests against CAA but as usual the Modi regime is expected to crush them with force and in all probability Modi and BJP will win again in the Lok Sabha election and Modi will become the PM again.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
