Amnesty India, while responding to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, said that the Bill legitimises discrimination on the basis of religion and stands in clear violation of the Constitution of India and international human rights law.
The group, in its statement, said that while welcoming asylum seekers is a great move, slamming the doors on persecuted Muslims and other communities merely for their faith "reeks of fear mongering and bigotry."
“The amendments are completely oblivious to the nature and scale of persecution faced by minorities in the neighbouring region. They also run absolutely foul of India’s international obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The amendments also run counter to Article 14 of the Constitution of India that guarantees the right to equality to every person and protects them from discrimination on the inherent grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.”Avinash Kumar, Executive Director, Amnesty India
The statement adds that India also shares its borders with the likes of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. However, the Bill doesn't bring in Sri Lankan Tamils under its purview. The amendments, Amnesty said, doesn't also include Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, described the world's most persecuted minority by the United Nations.
Amnesty further names Ahmadiyyas of Pakistan, Bihari Muslims of Bangladesh and Hazaras of Pakistan as among the communities who have suffered systematic persecution over years.
“The exclusion of these communities shows the bias of the government.”Amnesty India Statement
It also said that the amendments impinge on the human rights of Indian citizens, particularly Muslims.
“The Government of India denies any form of discrimination but the amendments clearly weaponise the NRC process against Muslims. It is difficult to view the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in isolation and not look at the larger picture where both the amendments and the NRC may deprive minorities of their citizenship in India. The amendments also set a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India. Worryingly, they also stand to create the biggest statelessness crisis of the world causing immense human suffering,” Avinash Kumar further said.
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