9TH December 2019, marked the end of a secular India and marked the propagation of the so called ‘Hindutva’ movement in the Indian Subcontinent. Our forefathers who set the routes and thetone for this great nation including BR Ambedkar , Nehru, Gandhi , Sardar Patel never expected this to be propagated in which they left as the greatest democracy of the world. Article 14 and 15 of the constitution of India assures equality amongst all the Indians which is now being debated in a so called secular nation.
The amendment to the citizenship bill was passed on this day in the Lok Sabha. Before the amendment the bill allowed any group of persecuted minorities to claim Indian citizenship in India on various grounds not limited to religion . But the amendment changed that policy and has redefined it as religious minorities.
Now, the bill allows only religious persecuted groups to claim citizenship like the Christians, Parsis ,Hindus etc, from the States of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Ever since the amendment has come into place the Indian subcontinent has become an area of conflict amongst different groups and parts of society. We have one group which stands in support of the bill while we have another group who stands against the bill claiming it to be racially discriminating towards the Muslim society.
I stand against this amendment as a whole. This bill disregards the Hindus in Sri lanka, the Rohingya refugees of the Rakhine state of Myanmar and the Shia Muslim population of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Many international organizations which defend religious rights etc, have condemned the amendment calling it discriminatory in nature.
Now lets talk about Shia Muslims in Pakistan. The group of Shia Muslims in Pakistan are a persecuted minority which is a very well known fact and even then they haven’t been given a special status through the amendment which is racial discrimination at its very best.
The government claims that they are trying to defend religious minorities yet they do not include all these groups which internationally have been recognized by various institutions as persecuted groups . Secondly, we have the Rohingyas in Myanmar who even the United Nations recognizes as a persecuted minority but the Modi administration fails to recognize this well known fact .
The governments excuse to the multiple accusations made on them are that the cut off date is 31st December 2014 for citizenship not realizing that its going to be almost impossible for anyone to prove that they have entered India before 2015 and are part of a persecuted minority plus proving they are from the 3 countries listed.
Now lets talk about the riots that have taken place ever since this amendment came into the picture, large scale riots and processions have been taking place to show public agony and anger towards this document. The students of north India are the ones due to which the protests initially started including the esteemed Jawaharlal Nehru university. Recently the riots have picked pace and have spread throughout the country, making the governments silence has simply been a catalyst to the fire. The ruling party and their allies stand in opposition of the allies but fail to understand that the very essence of a democracy lies in the people giving their opinions using protests as their means. This stands in line with the ideology of the men who found this great democracy.
Now lets talk about the Assamese people who have grave concerns with regards to the bill. Every person has been talking about the way this bill doesn’t effect the people of Assam , making their opinion baseless. They fail to understand that the bill is only not applicable in the areas which have been covered under the 6th schedule of the constitution of India and the Inner line permit.
Which means the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, parts of Assam and Tripura within the jurisdiction of the bill. Not only are they against the bill due to its iscriminatory nature but also because the people who entered India after the India- Pakistan war of 1971 and entered before 31st December 2014 are now eligible for citizenship , off course only if they meet the required criteria. This will end up making the Assamese people and people from other north eastern states a minority within their own state as their speaking population will fall. In the 1991 census they were down to a mere 48 percent in their in own state.
I would like to conclude by stating, lets not do what the British did to us for 200 years, lets not do something that makes the forefathers of this nation feel that it was a mistake, lets stand to the very spirit of secularism and democracy. Lets not let a 17 year old boy question himself time and again on whether he stays in ‘ The Republic of India’ or the ‘ Hindu Republic of India’. We need to stand and fight for our rights, the very India each and every freedom fighter sacrificed all they had. Lets show the world that we stand United and not divided. Jai Hindi!
Student Name: Manav Dharnidharka
Grade: A level