During the session ‘The Three Worlds of Indian Citizenship’, Niraja Gopal Jayal, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, said on Saturday that the inclusive character of the Constitution providing equal citizenship to all was being undermined by acts routine violence and discrimination against minorities. “We are seeing a normalisation of patterns of violence against women, Dalits and Muslims.”
On the trend of the country shifting from the inclusive and universal wisdom articulated in the Constitution to less inclusive concepts of citizenships, she said that NRC and Citizenship Amendment Bill were symbols of the changing times. The word citizenship itself has taken on a different connotation, she said. “Once the term was electrifying, empowering and inspiring for various reasons. There is a menacing overtone to the wordnow,” she said.
She also noted that such issues had to be seen in the larger context of policies towards minorities and acceleration of violence against them. “Violence against Dalits is up by 44% since 2014, with 90% charge-sheeting and a 20% conviction rate.”
