Protest in India

If the government of Narendra Modi had thought that the new citizenship law passed by the Indian parliament’s lower house would be accepted without murmur, it has been proven wrong. Since Saturday there has been an uprising across India against the law which is anti-Muslim since it fast-tracks citizenship for all non-Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries, but does not extend this provision to Muslims. India has a population of over 200 million Muslims and human rights and Muslim activists say the law discriminates against them and aims to marginalize them.Following rioting in Assam where people are concerned about an influx of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, by Sunday protests had spread to other places across India — on the streets in New Delhi, Aligarh, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Patna and other cities. In some places, non-Muslim Indians have also joined their Muslim peers in these rallies and marches. This is an encouraging sign for the future of India. In Delhi police clashed with students from the Jamia Millia Islamia University as several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the police headquarters. The police then stormed the university campus, and at least 300 students and a dozen police officers are reported to have been injured. Students have said the protests were peaceful and intended only to draw attention to an unjust law. There has also been tension in Aligarh, home to a large university and a sizeable Muslim population. In other places too, police are on the alert though the main scene of violence has been India’s north-eastern states where ethnic tensions have flared up in the past and made people weary of what the new citizenship law could bring.The UN has also expressed concern over the law and the question of equality enshrined in the Indian constitution. In an action that is familiar to many in South Asia, Modi has blamed the opposition Congress Party for the unrest. But the opposition party and its allies are not alone in feeling unease over the law which has already been challenged in the Indian Supreme Court. For decades India has presented itself as a secular, democratic and egalitarian state. This law makes it clear that will no longer be the case and the unrest already been seen on the street could spill over to take more dangerous forms and create dangerous sectarian tensions within India.

from The News International - Editorial https://ift.tt/38NNkor