India has implemented a controversial citizenship law that has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims, a minority community whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist government.
\nThe rules for the law were announced Monday. It establishes a religious test for migrants from every major South Asian faith other than Islam. Critics argue that the law is further evidence that Modi\u2019s government is trying to reshape the country into a Hindu state and marginalize its 200 million Muslims.
\nThe 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.
\nIt also amends the old law, which prevents illegal migrants from becoming Indian citizens, and marks the first time that India \u2014 an officially secular state with a religiously diverse population \u2014 has set religious criteria for citizenship.
\nThe Indian government has said those eligible can apply for Indian citizenship through an online portal.
\nThe implementation of the law has been one of the key poll promises of Modi\u2019s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the run-up to the general election, which is scheduled to be held by May.
\nModi\u2019s government has dismissed the notion that the law is discriminatory and defended it as a humanitarian gesture. It argues the law is meant only to extend citizenship to religious minorities fleeing persecution and would not be used against Indian citizens.
\nThe law was approved by India\u2019s Parliament in 2019, but Modi\u2019s government held off its implementation after deadly protests broke out in New Delhi and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.
\nThe nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India\u2019s 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.
\nThe National Register of Citizens is part of the Modi government\u2019s effort to identify and weed out people it claims came to India illegally. The register has only been implemented in the northeastern state of Assam, but Modi\u2019s party has promised to roll out a similar citizenship verification program nationwide.
\nCritics and Muslim groups say the new citizenship law will help protect non-Muslims who are excluded from the register, while Muslims could face the threat of deportation or internment.
\nOpponents of the law \u2014 including Muslims, opposition parties and rights groups \u2014 say it is exclusionary and violates the secular principles enshrined in the constitution. They say faith cannot be made a condition of citizenship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India has implemented a controversial citizenship law that has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims, a minority community whose concerns have heightened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist government. The rules for the law were announced Monday. It establishes a religious test for migrants from every major South Asian faith other than Islam. Critics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-393847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\n