Ganosamhati Andolan holds a roundtable discussion on the impact of India’s NRC and CAA on South Asia and Bangladesh at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Tuesday. — New Age photo

Politicians, academics and researchers on Tuesday urged the people to raise their voice against the implementation of the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens in India as these would adversely affect Bangladesh.

They observed that the Indian and Myanmar governments were pursuing identical policies targeting the Muslim and Bengali people in their respective country.

The remarks were made at a discussion in Dhaka organised by the Ganosamhati Andolan on the influence of NRC and CAA in the region.

Describing India as a country of multiple ethnicities, Dhaka University professor emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury said that the Indian government was trying to create divisions in its society based on religious identity.

The Indian government is also spreading confusion to divert people’s attention from the fascism it is pursuing and the economic troubles it has created, he said, adding, ‘With these [CAA and NRC], India would be made a prison for the ethnic groups.’

Mentioning the Bangladesh government’s stance that views NRC and CAA as India’s internal matter, he said that the capitalist countries in 1971 had also described the War of Independence of Bangladesh as an internal matter of then Pakistan.

Dr Zafarullah Chowdhury of Gonoshasthaya Kendra said that the Bangladesh government was pursuing a submissive policy over the NRC and CAA issues.

‘The country is already in trouble in dealing with about 1.2 million Rohingya people. We would be in a serious crisis if India starts to push 1.9 million people from Assam,’ he cautioned, urging the government to raise its voice regarding the matter.

Socialist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Khalequzzaman observed that the people of entire South Asia would have to have solidarity against the spread of communalism and fascism in the region.

Describing India’s NRC and CAA as anti-Muslim and anti-Bengali campaigns, sociologist Swapan Adnan said that the Indian and Myanmar authorities were pursuing identical discriminatory policies against the Muslim and Bengali people only based on their identities.

The Indian government would implement CAA against the Muslims while it would implement both NRC and CAA against both the Muslim and Bengali communities, he said, adding that the Myanmar government had

forcibly displaced Rohingya people as they were Muslim and Bangla-speaking people.

Acclaimed photographer Shahidul Alam urged the people of all strata in Bangladesh to raise their voice against the implementation of NRC and CAA.

Jahangirnagar University teacher Syeed Ferdous said that the implementation of NRC and CAA would destabilise entire South Asia.

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua commented that it was important to understand the influence of India in Bangladesh and how the country was run in order to know why people here vocal against the implementation of NRC and CAA were attacked.

Dhaka University teacher Tanjim Uddin Khan said that there were fascist elements in the country and the people needed to be cautious about that.

Revolutionary Workers Party general secretary Saiful Haque said that the implementation of NRC and CAA in India would provoke extremism across the region.

Ganosamhati Andolan convener Zonayed Saki presided over the discussion.

The implementation of NRC and CAA might create a refugee crisis for Bangladesh, Zonayed warned, urging the people to protest against the role of the Bangladesh government in dealing with matters involving NRC and CAA.

Ganosamhati Andolan central leader Feroz Ahmed, researcher Altaf Parvez, Saima Khatun and Arup Rahi also took part in the discussion.