Hindu nationalist has plan to institute law that excludes Muslims
NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office.
The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before Dec. 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.
The law was approved by India’s Parliament in 2019, but Modi’s government had held off on implementation after deadly protests broke out in the capital, New Delhi, and elsewhere. Scores were killed in days of clashes.
The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.
The National Register of Citizens is part of Modi government’s effort to identify and weed out people it claims came to India illegally. The register has only been implemented in the northeastern state of Assam, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to roll out a similar citizenship verification program nationwide.
Modi’s government has defended the 2019 citizenship law as a humanitarian gesture. It argues that the law is meant only to extend citizenship to religious minorities fleeing persecution and would not be used against Indian citizens.
“These rules will now enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to acquire citizenship in our nation,” Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
India’s main opposition Congress party questioned the announcement, saying “the timing right before the elections is evidently designed to polarise the elections.”
Human rights watchdog Amnesty India in a statement called the law “discriminatory” and said it “goes against the constitutional values of equality and international human rights law.” It said the law “legitimises discrimination based on religion” and is “exclusionary in its structure and intent.”
India is home to 200 million Muslims who make up a large minority group in the country of more than 1.4 billion people. They are scattered across almost every part of India and have been targeted in a series of attacks that have taken place since Modi first assumed power in 2014.
Critics say Modi’s conspicuous silence over anti-Muslim violence has emboldened some of his most extreme supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.
Modi has increasingly mixed religion with politics in a formula that has resonated deeply with India’s majority Hindu population. In January, he opened a Hindu temple at the site of a demolished mosque in northern Ayodhya city, fulfilling his party’s longheld Hindu nationalist pledge.
Most poll surveys suggest Modi will win a majority in a general election that is scheduled to be held by May.
FAFSA data flows: After months of delays and technical hiccups, some colleges and universities have started to receive U.S. federal data they need to put together financial aid offers for incoming students, the Biden administration said Monday.
The Education Department says it sent a batch of student records to “a few dozen schools” Sunday and is making final updates before expanding to more universities. The department did not say which schools received the first batch or how many student records were sent.
The delay has cut into the time schools usually have to assemble financial aid packages before the typical May 1 deadline for students to commit to a university. Many colleges have extended enrollment deadlines as they wait on the federal government, leaving families across the nation wondering how much financial help they will get with college tuition.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid overhaul delayed the form’s usual rollout from October to late December. The department then soft-launched the new version to address lingering bugs in the system, but many families reported difficulties accessing the form.
Not guilty plea: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine, pleaded not guilty at a federal court in Manhattan on Monday to new obstruction of justice charges recently added to a broad corruption indictment threatening the Democrat’s reelection chances.
Menendez had previously pleaded not guilty to other charges in October.
The couple is charged with taking bribes of gold bars, cash and a luxury car in return for the senator’s help in projects pursued by three New Jersey businessmen. Two of the three businessmen accused of bribing Menendez also entered not guilty pleas Monday. A third, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty
two weeks ago to bribery charges and agreed to testify against the others at a trial set for May 6.
Poland NATO spending:
Poland’s president on Monday called on other members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending on defense to 3% of their gross domestic product as Russia puts its economy on a war footing and pushes forward with its invasion of Ukraine.
President Andrzej Duda’s appeal came on the eve of a visit to the White House, where U.S. President Joe Biden will receive Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday.
“In the face of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s growing imperial aspirations, the countries making up NATO must act boldly and uncompromisingly,” Duda said in an address to his nation. His appeal comes as Poland marks the 25th anniversary of joining NATO, with the Czech Republic and Hungary, on March 12, 1999.
HUD chief leaving: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced Monday she would resign her post March 22, saying she was leaving “with mixed emotions.”
Fudge, 71, served as HUD secretary since the start of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Her statement did not indicate a reason she was resigning, saying only that she planned to “transition to life as a private citizen.”
The White House hailed Fudge’s dedication to affordable housing and protecting vulnerable residents.
Skiers’ bodies found: Five cross-country skiers — including members of the same Swiss family — were found dead along an Alpine ridge after going missing over the weekend near Switzerland’s famed Matterhorn, Swiss police said Monday. Another skier remains missing. Police said the six set out in “relatively good” conditions Saturday, but things deteriorated quickly.