By announcing the rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act earlier last week, the Centre has indicated its determination in implementing the law, which many opposition parties have described as discriminatory and against the provisions of the Constitution. The opposition plea is that it is aimed at excluding the Muslims and the announcement has been done with the eye on the 2024 Parliamentary polls.
On his part, Home Minister Amit Shah has stated that the BJP has fulfilled the promise it had made in its manifesto and the law does not affect anyone who is a genuine citizen of this country but has tried to accommodate persecuted minorities from across our borders.
The BJP has been keen that Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis, who were living in Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and were suffering on account of their faith, should get top priority in getting the citizenship of this country. The Opposition plea is that many Muslims were also suffering, and thus should be in the area of consideration for such a relief, if it has to come.
The issue becomes complex because the unfortunate partition of the country took place on religious lines way back in 1947 after the British rule ended, and a new country for Muslims came into existence. In other words, the Two-Nation theory opposed by many in the political stream that time, but agreed upon by top leaders on both sides, became the basis of the partition.
Millions of people lost their homes and hearth while crossing over and there were massacres and rapes when the process started. The scars of this unprecedented event have not healed, and the Punjabi refugees for instance, who came into India from West Punjab, had the natural inclination of embracing a Hindu driven party like the Bharatiya Jana Sangh at that time.
Yes, there were Muslim families from this side also who moved to Pakistan, and the list of evacuee properties that were left behind indicates that their number was significant. Unfortunately, all the Hindus and Sikhs could not travel to India and the then Indian dispensation led by Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel assured them that they would be brought here gradually.
India was a princely state with over 600 riyasats, virtually all of whom gave their consent to be a part of this nation. These small kingdoms included Kashmir which was pre-dominantly Muslim, but because of the instrument of accession signed by then then Maharaja, Hari Singh, it was declared a part of India.
The dispute over this area has been there ever since and Pakistan, unjustifiably though, continues to make strong claims on the territory. Indian Parliament has already declared this region as an integral part of India, something which is non-negotiable. The point that arises is that when the countries were separated on religious lines with India choosing to remain secular, how can Muslims be persecuted in their own land on the basis of their faith. Obviously, the Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have had to suffer because of their beliefs. Young Hindu girls are forcibly lifted and married off to Muslims in Pakistan, after being converted while their families live in fear.
According to BJP, the CAA has been brought for such families and individuals, largely non-Muslims, who have suffered and are facing acute discrimination in the countries of their residence. It is also common knowledge that a large number of Bengalis from Bangladesh have also entered India through porous borders and their presence is causing complications, mostly pertaining to electoral issues.
The infiltration from Bangladesh has been happening gradually. For instance, in Delhi, even three decades or so back, there were families that had settled on the Yamuna Pushta, and to escape detection had changed their names and put Hindu God idols in their jhuggis. In fact, there are many maids and rickshaw pullers in East Delhi, who have managed to gain legitimate rights of staying by changing their names and identities for survival. They even possess Aadhaar cards.
However, the question that arises is, does India, which is already bursting at its seams and in terms of population has exceeded the figures of China, need any new citizens? There were enough problems already and most of them were on account of excessive people. Political asylum or citizenship to citizens of other countries, should be done after careful consideration. The BJP’s plea is that how Muslims can face discrimination on account of their religion in the country which was established as a theocratic state or in nations which are Islamic. Yes, there can be selective cases which can be considered on merit and on humane grounds.
The further argument is that while there were a large number of Muslim countries, where people practicing that faith could shift, the other religious minorities virtually have nowhere to go except India. This is the truth but the counter view is that after India became independent, it adopted a Constitution that does not discriminate on basis of religion or ethnicity.
The understanding of multiple legal experts is that the Constitution and its provisions apply to the citizens and not those who are seeking to become the citizens, and the government was within its rights to frame its rules.
The matter is essentially political and the opposition and the ruling dispensation are sparring on a matter whose legal dimensions are wide-ranging and untested as yet.