This post assumes the reader knows a little background about current affairs in India.
Governments and Prime Ministers do not last forever, but their policies and legacies can, and resentments fomented can last generations. Indeed, in 2019 the Government of India is trying to rectify what are seen as injustices of 1947. As an Indian in my 30s, I find it frightening that there are people of my generation, many my family and friends, who I cannot understand at all and who cannot understand my worldview. This widening gap is dangerous for our future.
So after looking at several conversations, news items, speeches from politicians, and videos of people on the street, this is my attempt at summarising questions and concerns that an “elitist liberal” such as myself still has about the CAA and the proposed NRC. I admit my perspective is from afar and from a position of privilege, but if you can engage in a thoughtful and peaceful manner, I look forward to meaningful conversations.
Firstly, I respect the massive mandate received by PM Modi’s party in the 2019 elections. India wanted him as PM, no denying that. Second, it is critical to understand that protesters against CAA come from various backgrounds and have a range of objections - not just one. Importantly, the people from the North East are more concerned with their local culture being preserved, rather than the religion of immigrants. CAA for them would allow Hindu outsiders to continue living in these parts and that does not solve the issue they demanded an NRC for in the first place.
For those of us outside this region of India, I try to summarise below some of our unaddressed worries and questions:
1. Who is a persecuted minority, why do they have a religion and belong to only some countries in the subcontinent?
What are numbers of these people who are seeking refuge that the CAA claims to protect? Why is there a 2014 deadline for such protection? Claims so far say they are in the low thousands. How will these people prove that they faced persecution in these said countries? What prevents any infiltrator with criminal intent from hacking the system? West Pakistan, the numbers show, has had 3-4% non-Muslims from 1951 to 2011. East Pakistan/Bangladesh has indeed seen a drop in its non-Muslim population from 23% to 10% (India Today, Dec 12). Did all these people seek refuge in India? Were they all persecuted in their homeland?
Home Minister Amit Shah asked in Parliament “kya musalmano ke desh mein musalmano par atyachaar hoga?” We know that Muslim communities within these Islamic countries also face discrimination. Why are they less deserving for “fast-track” citizenship in India if they choose to come here? What about Buddhists (a religious community that the CAA otherwise protects) from Tibet who are a large refugee population in India - why should they face a delay in acquiring citizenship rights? Did other parties and previous governments propose or promise a CAA exactly like the one that has been passed? If they had succeeded in passing it in Parliament, people would have raised objections then too. It is not a better idea even if Dr. Manmohan Singh requested it (as some videos depict).
This is not like minority reservations for job or colleges, this about Indian citizenship which has far-reaching consequences. And to be clear, I don’t support every kind of reservation prevalent in India either. It’s not clear to me that the most deserving people are helped in a meaningful way.
2. Implementation and execution of a countrywide NRC
Home Minister Amit Shah has declared multiple times that NRC will be brought to all of India by 2024. So it is on the agenda, clearly?
Many urge protesters to wait, and not cause alarm before NRC has been tabled in Parliament. However, we have seen this government suddenly bring in massive changes and new rules such as demonetisation or abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir which leads to pain and suffering for the common man, regardless of his religion. If nothing else, the country has a right to raise its voice and clearly warn the government to not foolishly repeat its past mistakes and hassle the average person in India.
How much is a countrywide NRC going to cost? We know that the NRC in Assam was already an expensive exercise, and was found to be massively error-ridden. Will the costs justify the proposed benefit?How exactly will you protect legitimate Indian citizens who have no papers, have spelling errors in their papers, have lost their papers in a flood and so on?
3. Why is the CAA/NRC such an important legislation when much greater issues face the nation?
At a rally this month in Jharkhand the Home Minister said that national issues like uprooting terrorism, naxalism and the Ram temple are as important as development. Are they really more important than basic, good quality countrywide health and education? Has this government brought more jobs or improved literacy, for example? And what about a good policy on climate change? Is there anything on the cards because surely the whole country is being impacted by severe weather and unpredictable monsoons?
4. Violence at protests and destruction of public property
All violence and rioting is unacceptable. Do we know the identities of the rioters?
Many protests were peaceful. How come violence and implementation of Article 144 correlates with states where the BJP has control of law and order?
5. Government of India’s response
Why is the government not coming out with clarity on any of the issues that the protesters are raising and how long do we have to wait? The FAQs posted by the government (HT, Dec 21) are not very helpful or concrete, and some do not answer questions raised. Example from the list: Q9: If it is so easy to prove identity then how 19 lakh people in Assam were affected due to NRC? Answer given: Infiltration is an old problem in Assam. To curb it, there was a movement and in 1985, the then Rajiv Gandhi government, to identify the intruders, had to enter into an agreement to prepare NRC, assuming the cut-off date of 25 March 1971. Does this really answer the issue raised?
Why are they unwilling to talk to peaceful protesters? Why do they only talk at rallies in front of their supporters? This does not help allay anyone’s fears. Saying “don’t worry, everything is fine” means nothing. The government is in its second term. They cannot be given a pass for good intentions, they are answerable to us.
A common allegation is that “libtards” and “sickulars” only protest for some minority groups and not others. I don’t think that is true. No one condones what happened to Kashmiri Pandits, or to Sikhs in 1984. These are indeed an shameful and deplorable events that deserve(d) peaceful resolution and justice. These allegations are also perplexing when aimed at someone of my age, who was too young/not born to protest back when those events took place. Majoritarian power must never be unchecked and abused, anywhere.
Many including PM Modi claim that opposition parties are misleading the protesters with false information. These opposition parties do not have a countrywide appeal or reach. Most protesters are thinking for themselves and if the government truly wants to serve all its people, they have to listen to what these people are saying. PM Modi’s thumping victory in 2019 means that he has very little opposition in the houses of Parliament. If the common people do not like the policies being brought forward by the government, they are obviously well within their rights to make their dissent known - loud, non-violent and clear.
To end with a heartfelt, yet theatrical line: for people like me, this is not about hating Modi, this is about loving India.