India passes controversial anti-Muslim citizenship law

NEW DELHI: India’s ruling Hindu nationalist government on Wednesday approved the conttoversial citizenship that undermines the country’s secular constitution.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to grant Indian nationality to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs who fled Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before 2015.

The bill passed the upper house of parliament with 125 members supporting it and 105 opposing. The move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government faced stiff resistance from opposition parties, minority groups and student bodies, as it discriminates against Muslims.

As the upper chamber debated the bill, demonstrations against it turned violent in the country’s northeast states. Soldiers were deployed in Tripura and reinforcements put on standby in neighbouring Assam, both of which border Bangladesh.

Some opposition Muslim politicians have also argued that the bill targets their community, which numbers more than 170 million people and is by far India’s largest minority group.

The government has said the new law will be followed by a citizenship register that means Muslims will have to prove they were original residents of India and not refugees from these three countries, potentially rendering some of them stateless.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said on Monday that Washington should consider sanctions against Amit Shah, a close associate of Modi, if India adopts the legislation.

“The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill marks the victory of narrow-minded and bigoted forces over India’s pluralism,” said Sonia Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party.

A curfew has been imposed in Assam’s main city of Guwahati after police clashed with thousands of protesters, beating them back using water cannons and tear gas.

State authorities in Assam also blocked mobile internet services in 10 districts, fearing further violence. Protesters remained on the streets late into Wednesday evening, where bonfires were lit, public property vandalised and vehicles set on fire.