India Announces Controversial Rules for Citizenship Bill Excluding Muslims
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs recently announced the rules that would enable the implementation of a contentious citizenship bill, which excludes Muslims. This announcement comes prior to India’s general election in the spring, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to secure a third term in office.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, passed by India’s parliament in 2019, offers a fast-track to citizenship for immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. However, this law only applies if the immigrants are not Muslim. The legislation is intended to help religious minorities who have faced persecution on religious grounds, such as Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act could not come into effect until the rules were announced. Despite Prime Minister Modi’s approval of the bill, it faced significant opposition from various parties who claimed it to be unconstitutional and discriminatory against India’s 200-million Muslim population.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah lauded Modi in a post on Twitter, expressing his gratitude for the realization of a promise made to religious communities living in those countries. He stated, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered on another commitment and realized the promise of the makers of our constitution to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians living in those countries.”
Critics argue that this bill is just another instance of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader, Narendra Modi, pushing a pro-Hindu agenda onto secular India. The once secular and democratic founding ethos of the world’s largest democracy is reportedly deteriorating at an alarming pace under the BJP’s majoritarian policies.
Minorities in India have expressed feelings of persecution and marginalization under the BJP’s rule. Recent events, including the demolition of two mosques in Uttarakhand state and Delhi, have fueled religious tensions and resulted in clashes and local curfews.
The BJP’s roots can be traced back to India’s Hindu right-wing movement, with many followers viewing India as a Hindu nation. Since Modi’s rise to power nearly a decade ago, critics assert that the country’s founding ethos of secularism and democracy is weakening. Any opposition or criticism towards the government faces censorship and punishment.
Furthermore, in January 2023, Modi inaugurated a vast Hindu temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque that was destroyed by Hindu hardliners more than 30 years ago. Although many Hindus celebrated the opening of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, it was a painful reminder for India’s minority Muslim population of the religious divisions that have become more pronounced under Modi’s rule.
