India's controversial new citizenship law excludes migrants who are Muslim, a minority group whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Modi's government.

New Delhi

India has introduced a new citizenship law that is raising concerns among the Muslim population. The law excludes Muslim migrants, marking a significant shift in the country's approach to citizenship under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. This has intensified the apprehensions of the Muslim minority, who feel increasingly marginalized by the government's policies.

The controversial legislation has sparked a debate on religious freedom and equality in India. Critics argue that it discriminates against Muslims, a group that has felt under pressure since Modi's government came to power. The situation highlights the growing tensions within the country over issues of inclusion and minority rights.



Muslims in India cry foul over new citizenship law

It's Ramadan, and the streets of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi are buzzing with festivities after a long day of fasting. In 2019, the Muslim-majority area became a hot spot in the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA for short. We meet Asif Mushtaba, who a little over four years ago spent days and nights at this exact spot leading one of the biggest protest movements independent India had seen. In 2019, CAA made changes to an existing law to grant fast-track citizenship to undocumented migrants from six religious groups, including Hindus and Christians, from three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Muslim migrants were not included in the provision. Any religiously persecuted community coming to India for a shelter should get citizenship and I support that. But when you say everyone will get citizenship except Muslims, that's the point where I have reservation to. So CAA is totally Islamophobic, it is totally criminal. Critics call CAA India's first religion-based citizenship test and the initial step of a larger agenda. There are fears that it could potentially be used to expel Muslims identified as illegal immigrants. It is selectively targeting Muslims. And that's why it's against the ethos of the secular country that India that we live in. Is there a hidden agenda? We meet Nalin Kohli, a BJP leader and Supreme Court advocate. According to Kohli, the CAA is not anti-Muslim, but is simply about helping minority non-Muslims in the region. For a Muslim who wants to be an immigrant or wishes to seek citizenship here, to say that I should be fast-tracked when he's coming from a Muslim-majority country and two, has the option to go to 50 other countries, which a Hindu doesn't have, a Sikh doesn't have, is discriminatory then to the entire cause and purpose. But critics of the act maintain the law is discriminatory and that using religion as a basis for citizenship violates a fundamental right to equality. We spoke to Kushank Sindhu, an advocate specialising in constitutional law. He told us that the Citizenship Amendment Act still faces a number of legal challenges. The question is whether or not the amendments actually pass constitutional muster. And there are already petitions which have been listed before the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court will decide on the constitutionality of this act. Back in Shaheen Bagh, Asif is worried. He is concerned that the government might soon merge the CAA with the Planned National Register of Citizens, or NRC for short. The proposed register would make a list of all legal citizens in India and could tie citizenship rights even more closely to religion. It's very likely possible that the government will implement NRC because their hate towards Muslims transcends beyond anything that you can imagine. For now, Asif is clinging to the hope that India's highest court will strike down any law linking citizenship to religion. To date, over 200 petitions challenging the CAA have been filed.

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