HRW asks India to repeal new anti-Muslim citizenship laws
At least 52 more people were killed in the three days of communal violence that broke out in Delhi.
NEW YORK (Dunya News) – The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on India to real its new anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was passed in December 2019.
The Human Rights Watch’s 82 page report entitled ‘Shoot the Traitors’ has said that The amended citizenship law, coupled with the government’s push for a nationwide citizenship verification process through a National Population Register (NPR) and a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), aimed at identifying “illegal migrants,” has led to fears that millions of Indian Muslims, including many families who have lived in the country for generations, could be stripped of their citizenship rights.
The report also says that Indian government policy has also reflected bias against Muslims. Since October 2018, Indian authorities have deported over a dozen Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar despite the risks to their lives and security and the police have failed to intervene when BJP supporters engage in speech inciting violence or mob attacks but are quick to arrest critics of the government.
Report also claims that at least 52 more people were killed in the three days of communal violence that broke out in India’s capital. Over 200 were injured, properties destroyed, and communities displaced in targeted attacks by Hindu mobs.
This report is based on interviews with victims of abuses and their families from Assam, Delhi, and the state of Uttar Pradesh, as well as legal experts, academics, activists, and police officials. It examines the discriminatory nature of the Citizenship Amendment Act and how the law, when combined with government citizenship verification initiatives including the National Population Register and National Register of Citizens, places millions of Muslims and other minorities at risk of statelessness and disenfranchisement.
