webfact Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Protests erupt as India pushes for religion-based citizenship bill By Zarir Hussain and Abhirup Roy Demonstrators display placards during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, a bill that seeks to give citizenship to religious minorities persecuted in neighbouring Muslim countries, in Ahmedabad, India, December 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amit Dave GUWAHATI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in India on Monday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government offered a controversial bill in parliament that would give citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from three neighbouring countries. Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in India's lower house amid raucous debate. Opposition parties stood against the proposed law that would, for the first time, create a legal pathway to grant Indian nationality on the basis of religion. The bill was originally introduced in 2016 during the Modi government's first term but lapsed after protests and an alliance partner's withdrawal. It proposes to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslims who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before 2015. Oppositions politicians inside parliament, and protesters in several Indian cities, said the bill discriminated against Muslims and violated India's secular constitution. Shah and Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had included the CAB as part of its manifesto in the last general election, insist that it is necessary. "In these three countries, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians, followers of these six religions have been tormented," Shah said, before the bill was tabled after a vote. 'LAST DROP OF BLOOD' But protesters returned to the streets in Assam - one of India's remote northeastern states that had previously opposed the bill - and blocked roads, burnt tyres and painted walls with slogans against the new proposal. Student groups called for dawn-to-dusk shutdown in four districts of the state. Shops, businesses, educational and financial institutions remained shut and public transport stayed off the roads. "We will fight and oppose the bill till the last drop of our blood," All Assam Students' Union adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya told Reuters, underlining the region's resistance against migrants amid fears that tens of thousands of settlers from neighbouring Bangladesh would gain citizenship. In Modi's home state of Gujarat and the eastern city of Kolkata, hundreds of people staged protests and marched against the proposed law. In a statement issued on Monday, a group of more than 1,000 Indian scientists and scholars also called for the immediate withdrawal of the bill. "We fear, in particular, that the careful exclusion of Muslims from the ambit of the bill will greatly strain the pluralistic fabric of the country," the statement said. After going through the lower house of parliament, where the BJP has a majority, the bill has to be okayed by the upper house, where the ruling party does not have enough votes for passage. Any bill needs to be ratified by both houses of India's parliament to become law. "Please save this country from this law and save the home minister," Asaduddin Owaisi, an opposition MP from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party, told parliament. (Reporting by Zarir Hussain in Guwahati and Abhirup Roy in Mumbain; additional reporting by Rupak De Chowdhuri in Kolkata and Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad; editing by Devjyot Ghoshal, Larry King) -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-10 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedrogaz Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Modi has really screwed India up. It should have been vying with China for leadership of Asia with great scientists and mathematicians. But you can't take stupid out of religiosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardColeman Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 7 hours ago, webfact said: said the bill discriminated against Muslims Oh, and like anybody that is non-muslim is never discriminated against in Muslims countries ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexterm Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 1 hour ago, RichardColeman said: Oh, and like anybody that is non-muslim is never discriminated against in Muslims countries ! So you want India to be as bad as discriminatory countries? Two wrongs don't make a right. Why not simply grant sanctuary to persecuted refugees on a personal needs basis , not just religion, as best Indian means allow, sharing the burden with other countries . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 46 minutes ago, dexterm said: So you want India to be as bad as discriminatory countries? Two wrongs don't make a right. Why not simply grant sanctuary to persecuted refugees on a personal needs basis , not just religion, as best Indian means allow, sharing the burden with other countries . but that would make sense. Now what sort of ridiculous world would we have if everyone did sensible things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srikcir Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 3 hours ago, RichardColeman said: Oh, and like anybody that is non-muslim is never discriminated against in Muslims countries ! Muslims are known to discriminate against other Muslims as well, ie., Shia vs Suni in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Religion should have no basis for citizenship in a democratic nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 3 hours ago, RichardColeman said: Oh, and like anybody that is non-muslim is never discriminated against in Muslims countries ! Moronic statement. You are taking about people who’s families have lived there for multiple generations who have been considered as Indian under the laws as they are stand. These people affected by this law have got absolutely nothing to do with these other countries policy’s, but you couldn’t help yourself lumping everyone together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabas Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 2 hours ago, dexterm said: Why not simply grant sanctuary to persecuted refugees on a personal needs basis , not just religion, as best Indian means allow, sharing the burden with other countries . If you focus on 'minority' instead of the shiny object religion, it seems India is doing just this in a smart way considering India's notorious corruption. Minorities in neighbouring Muslim countries are much more likely to be persecuted and in need. By putting this need into law, they eliminate endless corruption that would occur considering each case individually. Muslims with genuine needs would still be considered under existing law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcut Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 5 hours ago, RichardColeman said: Oh, and like anybody that is non-muslim is never discriminated against in Muslims countries ! I thought that's what Pakistan was all about. Gandi wouldn't know how to handle this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 12 hours ago, samran said: Moronic statement. You are taking about people who’s families have lived there for multiple generations who have been considered as Indian under the laws as they are stand. These people affected by this law have got absolutely nothing to do with these other countries policy’s, but you couldn’t help yourself lumping everyone together. up there cazaly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 3 hours ago, car720 said: up there cazaly. Dunno, did the two time premiership player and this years All Australian trigger you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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