Thousands protest in US cities against India citizenship law
US Thousands of Indian Americans, joined by several civil rights organisations, have staged protests across dozens of US cities against policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that critics say undermine the country’s secular constitution.
On Sunday, which marked India’s Republic Day, Mohammad Mustaqeem and his eightyearold son, along with thousands of others, gathered outside the Indian embassy in New York to protest against the recently passed citizenship law that makes faith a basis for attaining Indian citizenship. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) coupled with a plan to implement a nationwide counting of citizenship (National Register of Citizens or NRC) by India’s Hindu nationalist government has triggered widespread protests in the South Asian nation.
In the northeast Indian state of Assam, nearly two million people were dropped from the citizenship list in 2019 and many fear a nationwide NRC will possibly render millions of Indians stateless. Mustaqeem from the eastern Indian state of Bihar says his nephew Mohammad Irfan was among those injured last month when police stormed the library inside Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi.
Mustaqeem says his nephew’s left leg and right hand were fractured in the police action, which caused a public outcry. The students were protesting against the CAA and the NRC that activists say discriminates against India’s Muslims. “I can’t go back to India right now. But I have come here to protest against the war Modi has started against India’s Muslims,” Mustaqeem told Al Jazeera.
He accused the Modi government of waging a war against Muslims, students, Dalits and marginalised sections of society.
“Instead of studying, my nephew is under treatment in Araria (Bihar state). Is this the India we want to hand over to our next generation?” Mustaqeem asked.
Waving hundreds of Indian flags, protesters raised banners against Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The New York protest was part of nationwide protests and marches organised by the recently formed Coalition to Stop Genocide - a broad coalition of Indian Americans and USbased civil rights organisations such as the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, Equity Labs, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha of New York, Black Lives Matter and the Jewish Voice for Peace.
The protesters demanded the repeal of the CAA in India, and called for action by the US government, including possible sanctions on India’s Home Minister Shah, as recommended by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
“What is happening in India, is happening in the name of Hinduism. But the Hinduism that we practise is inclusive and has love at its centre. Whereas the Hindu nationalism is exclusive by definition and seems to have hatred at its centre,” said Sunita Viswanath from Hindus for Human Rights.
The protesting men, women and children of all ages held banners and shouted slogans against the Indian government’s rightwing policies. They unfurled the Indian flag and recited the national anthem to mark their Republic Day.
A poster said: “Hindu + Muslim = India’s greatest love stories. You can’t change that,” while another said: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” Many posters referred to ‘Martin Luther King’s dream vs India’s Nazi vision’. (Al Jazeera)