‘Problematic’: US religious freedom body raises concern over CAA implementation
Washington: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has raised alarm regarding the Indian government’s recent notification of rules to implement the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
According to Kashmir Media Service, USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck in a statement said, “The problematic CAA establishes a religious requirement for asylum seekers in India fleeing neighbouring countries”.
Schneck also said that while CAA provides a fast track to citizenship for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians, the law explicitly excludes Muslims.
“If the law were truly aimed at protecting persecuted religious minorities, it would include Rohingya Muslims from Burma….. among others. No one should be denied citizenship based on religion or belief,” he said.
The USCIRF urged members of the US Congress to continue to “publicly call out religious freedom issues in India, and to include religious freedom in discussions with government counterparts and importantly, during congressional delegations.”
Notably, the anti-Muslim CAA was passed in 2019. However, rules for its implementation were notified earlier this month. Protests against the CAA erupted in several parts of India after its passage in 2019 and the BJP government launched violent crackdown against the protestors mostly on Muslims. However, the controversial law has been met with widespread criticism, including from human rights organizations like Amnesty International, which calls for the immediate repeal of the law due to its exclusionary and discriminatory structure. The critics said that the CAA is part of an effort to create a religious test for Indian citizenship and could lead to the widespread disenfranchisement of Indian Muslims.
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