Controversial citizenship law in India draws flak

NEW DELHI — India moved on Monday to implement a 2019 citizenship law that has been criticized as discriminating against Muslims, weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term for his government.

Passed in December 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA, mainly aims at providing citizenship to migrants belonging to six communities, namely Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who had entered the country before Dec 31, 2014 for religious reasons.

Modi’s government did not implement the law following its December 2019 enactment as protests and sectarian violence broke out in New Delhi and elsewhere.

Rights groups and Muslim groups say the law, combined with the proposed National Register of Citizens, could discriminate against India’s 200 million Muslims, the world’s third-largest Muslim population.

Some fear the government might remove the citizenship of Muslims without documents in some border states.

A home ministry statement said the law would remove legal barriers to citizenship for refugees, giving a “dignified life” to those who have suffered for decades.

“Many misconceptions have been spread” about the law and its implementation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

The government denies it is antiMuslim and says the law is needed to help minorities facing persecution in Muslim-majority nations.

It says the law is meant to grant citizenship, not take it away from anyone, and has called the earlier protests politically motivated.

Modi swept to power in 2014 and has consolidated his hold since with a focus on growth, welfare economics, boosting infrastructure and aggressive Hindu nationalism.

Opinion polls suggest he will win a majority in a general election that will be held by May.

Motivated by election

The main opposition Congress party said Monday’s announcement was motivated by the approaching election.

“After seeking nine extensions for the notification of the rules, the timing right before the elections is evidently designed to polarize the elections, especially in West Bengal and Assam,” Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said on X.

In Chennai, protesters took out a candlelight march on Monday and shouted slogans against the law.

In Assam, protesters burnt copies of the law and shouted slogans on Monday night.

The opposition Communist Party of India, which rules the southern state of Kerala, called for statewide protests on Tuesday.

“This is to divide the people, incite communal sentiments and undermine the fundamental principles of the Constitution,” Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement.

“This move to stratify Indian citizens who have equal rights, must be opposed unitedly.”