The Capital witnessed multiple demonstrations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, (CAB) by different groups on Tuesday. The protesters raised slogans against the government and some of them burnt copies of the Bill as a mark of protest.
Protesters denounced the Bill which proposes to grant citizenship rights to members of certain religions, excluding Muslims from Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, ostensibly as a measure to extend protection to minorities of these countries.
“There is no pretence left that it is against Muslims. It is extremely discriminatory,” said Ufaque Paiker a PhD candidate at JNU holding a poster of the Preamble of the Constitution. The Bill would pave the way for India to transform on the lines of Israel model, she argued.
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“It is Islamophobic,” said Manisha Gulati, a student protesting at Jantar Mantar, condemning the move as “an attempt to homogenise people of the country to make a Hindu rashtra”.
“Many people won’t even have a choice but to convert to Hinduism if the Bill goes through,” she said.
The Bill was against the very idea of India, argued others. Commenting on the suggestion that the Bill was introduced to protect religious minorities, Sumit Samos, another protester, highlighted the persecution of Uighur in China and Rohingya in Myanmar and asked why they were not included.
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Chanting “CAB, roll back”, “CAB murdabad” amidst drum beats, several students from Northeast States also took part in demonstrations at Jantar Mantar.
“The Bill is against the secular ethos of the country and will destroy the cultural, linguistic and demographic balance of Assam,” said Rimpi Bora, 28, who is pursuing her PhD from JNU. “It will also dispossess us of our tribal and indigenous history,” she added.
Terming the Bill a part of communal agenda to disallow people of a specific religion, Rohit, a student at DU, said: “Savarkar and Jinnah had come up with the two-nation agenda and the Bill is going back to it.”
Protest demonstrations were held under the banner of students groups, including AISA, KYS and also by Socialist Democratic Party of India, “#Notinmyname” and “United Against Hate.”
(With inputs from Nikhil M Babu)