Shantanu Mukharji

Retired IPS officer

Concerns have been raised about Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) process, that was aimed at identifying illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the State.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior ministers of his Government have repeatedly asserted that no genuine citizen of the country will be left out of the final NRC.

Concerns are now also being raised over the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Critics say, is that while the NRC is about protecting and identifying people of ethnic Assamese heritage, the CAB is about religion. They argue that this is a manifestation of a sectarian agenda and goes against the interests of the indigenous people of the state of Assam.

However, one needs to simply look at the provisions of this Bill to realise that this has nothing to do with religion.

The Bill does not speak of providing citizenship only to Hindus. Instead it includes members of other religious communities as well: Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians. It clearly identifies those who stand to qualify for Indian citizenship as people who may have fled to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan because of religious persecution. These are people who may have been left across the border, out of no choice, post Partition.

The Bill, already passed by the Lok Sabha by a wide margin, seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from these countries after five years of residence in India. While this suggestion has a lot of people up in arms and has led to accusations of the Indian Government favouring a select few religions over others- one must remember that the persecution which Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians face in these three countries is no secret.

In fact, their mistreatment and discrimination is in a way inherent to the Constitutions of these countries which endorse Islam as the state religion.

India on the other hand has a secular mindset that is enshrined in and protected by our Constitution. From time immemorial, we have given refuge to victims of persecution, and history is witness to this fact.

Be it the Zoroastrians from Iran in the 12th century, or the Sri Lankan Tamils fleeing a civil war, from Hindus from Pakistan who have faced repeated ignominies to Afghans who came to India to escape the violence of the Soviet War or even the exiled Tibetans who have found peace and prosperity in India, our country has always prided itself in showing humanity and generosity by opening her arms to those people who seek refuge.

It would also be important to keep in mind that just because this Bill speaks of providing refuge to persecuted minorities from three countries- it in no way suggests that these refugees will be guaranteed Indian citizenship. Such persons will still have to go through the due procedure for acquiring Indian citizenship and their applications would be considered on a case to case basis. There is no proposal or even a suggestion of a blanket approval for all.

One must remember that the proposed beneficiaries of the amended Citizenship Bill have fled to India due to the hostile atmosphere against them in their respective countries and not merely to seek better economic opportunities. These aren’t economic refugees who have entered India in the hope of improving their standard of living or exploiting the immense opportunities that exist in the Indian economy. These people have been subjected to various forms of atrocities without any protection from their State.

This essential aspect differentiates these persecuted minorities from other illegal immigrants- like the Rohingya. It is important to note that when it comes to refugees from Myanmar, the Indian intelligence set-up has specific and targeted information that suggests that there is a very tangible threat of radicalisation among those Rohingya refugees who are currently living in the country or are trying to enter Indian territory at its border with Bangladesh.

The intel that we have at hand shows that there’s a credible threat to India’s national security set-up from such groups. Ignoring that would not only be foolhardy but detrimental to the safety of all Indian nationals and a risk that no Indian government would want to take.

Many ill-informed critics have spread canards that suggest the state of Assam will have to bear the entire burden of these persecuted communities once the Bill is passed. But the fact of the matter is that this Bill is intended for the entire country.

The adoption of the CAB also does not suggest the dilution of the Assam Accord. This accord is the basis on which the NRC was conducted. It set the cut-off date for recognition as a citizen of India as March 24, 1971.

A Government that is making elaborate efforts to right old wrongs and is acting proactively to continue to protect the interests of the ethnic Assamese people cannot be accused of jeopardising their interests in the same breath.

There are many who have also incorrectly expressed concerns that the Citizenship Amendment Bill will lead to a renewed exodus of Hindus from Bangladesh into India and more importantly into Assam. Critics claim that such an event will undo the work of the NRC and alter the linguistic and ethnographic balance of the State.

However, what’s important to remember is that it was in the immediate aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation war that India saw an increased migration of Hindus into India. As per recent reports, the population of Hindus in Bangladesh has declined steeply from 28% to nearly 8% now. If we go by these numbers, it’s clear that most members of minority communities have already migrated out of the country. Moreover, the extent of atrocities committed against such groups in Bangladesh have significantly reduced in the recent years. This puts to rest concerns of a large-scale migration into India on account of religious persecution.

India cannot and must not turn its back on its brethren – those brothers and sisters who have been unfortunate enough to be vilified by governments only because of their faith and those who were left behind in the chaos that followed the division of India. It is our Constitutional duty to make room for them in India, to open our arms and welcome them, to help undo mistakes of the past and to give them a chance to live a life of dignity and respect among their own. This duty will be carried out by all Indian States and will never just be a burden to be borne by the people of Assam.

At the same time, we must remember the geopolitics of our region. Surrounded by countries whose Constitution puts religion at the heart of its state policies, we cannot blindly allow non-persecuted nationalities to enter India by claiming refugee status.

-The author is a retired IPS officer