Yeh Jo India Hai Na, It Is No Longer A Good Host
As Amit Shah formally introduced the CAB in Lok Sabha, Rohit Khanna asks, “What happened to Atithi Devo Bhawa”?
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Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
God knows what happened to good old Indian hospitality. Atithi Devo Bhava, My guest is my God? Gone into the trash can.
And this one, SECULARISM, Sarva Dharma Sambhava, this one’s heading there too – into the same trash can if the central government has its way and the Citizen Amendment Bill becomes the law of the land.
For those people who these days are not liking the word ‘secular', here’s a hard fact – India is defined as SECULAR in its Constitution, which this government has sworn to uphold.
But one look at the BIG new rule in the Citizen Amendment Bill and you wonder. Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain or Parsi immigrants or refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh could claim Indian citizenship in 6 years. But NOT Muslims!
It’s official. Well almost. And yet it's WRONG! Not just MORALLY WRONG, it's UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
Why do we say so? Because of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. What does Article 14 basically say? It says – Everyone is equal before the law in India and this applies to citizens, non-citizens and even foreign refugees living here.
But the government views Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist, Jains and Parsis as ‘persecuted minorities’ in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. And since these are Muslim majority countries, the government's logic is that citizenship need not be offered to Muslim migrants from these countries because they are NOT a persecuted minority there.
In Parliament too, Home Minister Amit Shah has argued that no Muslim has faced persecution in Pakistan. But that’s not the case.
Have you heard the plight of Ahmediya Muslims in Pakistan? They have faced persecution in Pakistan’s Sunni Muslim dominated society for decades. Shia Muslims are also regularly targeted in Pakistan. Apparently our Ministry of Home Affairs got inputs on religious persecution in Pakistan via security agencies and via print and electronic media reports. Which means that while googling about religious persecution in Pakistan, did they never read about the Ahmediyas or Shias? Or did they choose to ignore? Just like they ignored the fact that in Afghanistan too. Shia Muslim sects such as the Hazaras, the Ismailis have also persecuted especially under the fanatical Taliban rule. But these are inconvenient facts because offering citizenship in the name of religious persecution is just a flimsy excuse to deny Indian citizenship to Muslim immigrants and refugees. It’s embarrassing, even scary how clear this intent is – keep Muslims out. Send Muslims back. And just to remind you, India is secular.
Another tricky question – Hindus from Bangladesh in Assam. Firstly, indigenous Assamese are in any case unhappy that the Citizen Amendment Bill plans to offer citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindus. But the question we’re asking is different – have MOST Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh faced ‘religious persecution’? The answer is NO. Both Hindu and Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh are only trying to escape extreme poverty. Crossing into India to improve their lives. The excuse of ‘religious persecution’ has been cooked up only so that Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh can be turned away, can be told that they are not welcome.
And by the way, isn’t Myanmar a neighbour? Isn’t China a neighbour? Rohingya Muslims are being persecuted in Myanmar. India is already home to hundreds of Rohingya Muslims. Are we going to send them back to face persecution yet again? What about China’s Uighur Muslims? Their persecution by the Chinese government is well documented and the infamous detention centres where thousands of Uighurs are imprisoned. If Uighurs seek refuge in India, will we turn them away? On what basis can we refuse a Rohingya Muslim the option of citizenship, and yet offer it to a Hindu immigrant from Pakistan?
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)