India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims

Source: Associated Press

India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims

BY SHEIKH SAALIQ
Updated 11:22 AM EDT, March 11, 2024

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office.

The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before Dec. 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.

The law was approved by Indian Parliament in 2019, but Modi’s government had held off with its implementation after deadly protests broke out in capital New Delhi and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.

The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/india-citizenship-law-modi-muslims-fca6fc85c494238f4e93e66785e8b81f