How The Citizenship Amendment Bill Impacts The NRC And Northeast Politics

The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 introduced by the government in parliament looks to amend the Citizenship Act 1955. The bill has received a lot of flak from all sections of society particularly in the Northeast. It faces strong resistance in the Northeast and even NDA allies are threatening to break ties if the bill becomes an act.

What’s In The Bill

1. Amending the Citizenship Act 1955 and changing the definition of an illegal immigrant. According to the previous act, any person who doesn’t have proper documents will be termed as an illegal immigrant. According to the new act, people of the following religions from three countries will not be treated as illegal immigrants: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

2. The previous act had provisions for people living in India to receive citizenship through naturalization. According to the previous act a person must have lived in the country for 11 years preceding the application submission of citizenship. This bill reduces that to 6 years.

3. This bill says that registration of OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders will be canceled if they violate any law.

This bill has passed in the Lok Sabha but is receiving major criticism across the country especially in the Northeast. The biggest drawback of this bill is that it divides people on the basis of religion which is against the values of our constitution.

Why The Northeast Is Against The Bill

Illegal immigration has been a major issue in the Northeast. The region has witnessed many agitations against illegal immigrants for decades now. The citizenship bill has tried to redefine the definition of illegal immigrant and that has caused a lot of concern in Northeast.

A man at a protest organised by the Northeastern community in Mumbai against the Citizenship Amendment Bill in January this year. (Photo: Himanshu Saikia/Facebook)

The bill tries to discriminate between religions and ignores Muslim minorities in neighboring countries. But, the biggest concern of people in Northeast is that the bill undermines the effect of the Assam Accord signed in 1985. According to the Assam Accord, any person who can’t prove their ancestor’s presence in India before March 24 1971 will be deemed as an illegal immigrant.

The Assam Accord didn’t discriminate on the basis of religion and it ended the 6-year long agitation against illegal immigration in the state of Assam. However, the Citizenship Amendment Bill has tried to change the definition of illegal immigrants and excluded religious minorities from the illegal immigrant list.

Bengali Hindus who migrated from Bangladesh to India constitute a major chunk of illegal immigrants in Assam. According to the new bill however, they will no more be illegal immigrants and can be granted citizenship.

This has caused a lot of distress in Assam as it violates the Assam Accord.  Asom Gana Parishad, an NDA ally in the state has threatened to break ties if the bill is passed. This bill has caused communal divides in Assam to resurface which is not good for the growth of the Northeast.

The Intention Of The Bill

The bill looks to provide a safe home to prosecuted refugees in neighboring countries of India. Many religious minorities in neighboring countries have to face a lot of discrimination and violence due to their identity. The want to provide a safe shelter to them can be understood.

The problem arises when the government ignores Muslim religious minorities like Shias and Ahmadiyyas. Muslim minorities also face a lot of discrimination on the basis of religion. This can raise a question on the intention of the government behind the bill. The ideological leanings can also be seen through this bill. This bill promotes a hardline approach to the problem rather than a humanitarian one.

What Happens To The NRC?

National Register of Citizens is a register containing names of every genuine Indian citizen. It is currently being updated in Assam. The NRC is being updated to identify illegal immigrants and send them back to their country of origin. But this bill changes the scenario now, as the definition of illegal immigrants changes.

Photo: Himanshu Saikia via Facebook.

Bengali Hindus who were declared illegal immigrants by the NRC are now legal by the current clauses of the bill. This nullifies the process of NRC and seriously affects the demographic of the region. This bill does not clear the plan and leaves the future of people undecided.

Confusion regarding the NRC can prove fatal for the process as it is coming to an end. This bill can undo a lot of hard work and can destroy the hopes of the people of Assam. The dilemma has been caused due to this process and what lies ahead is still a big question mark for the people of Assam.

Problems Of The Barak Valley

The two of the most important valleys of Assam, the Brahmaputra valley and Barak valley have always witnessed tensions. Barak Valley has a concentrated population of Bengali refugees and Brahmaputra valley has a population of indigenous Assamese people.

People in the Barak Valley complain that they have been termed infiltrators wrongly. People here are in favor of the bill and want it passed which will make them a citizen of the country. Assam people are afraid that opening the floodgates for refugees will destroy their culture and make them a minority.

The bill has brought back tensions between these two valleys and it will be important that things are resolved as soon as possible. People in Barak Valley are unsure of their future and where they will they go if they are termed an illegal immigrant.

The scene in the Brahmaputra Valley is different as they protest against the bill. All Assam Students Union, a strong student body which led the 6-year agitation in the 1980s and was instrumental in the legislation of Assam Accord says that the agreement is final and there will be no further talk on this issue. They claim that that they don’t want the state to become a dumping ground for foreigners.

What Lies Ahead

The road ahead for the BJP is difficult as pressure builds on them. Allies like AGP have already voiced their concern. Sarbananda Sonowal, CM of Assam who also comes from AASU is in a tough position. Going against the bill puts him against the party line.

Protests have continued in the Northeast and it will be interesting to see how the BJP responds to this. As our country has followed a set of liberal traditions when it comes to refugees, people prosecuted in different countries can find shelter here without threatening the core principle of our civilization.

India has always accepted diverse groups of people and provided help when needed. But, discrimination on the basis of religion has never been a tradition of Indian society and it should not affect who we accept as a refugee.

Every person who wants to find a safe home for themselves can come to this country without the cultural fabric of the land being threatened because the basic principle of our culture is acceptance.

India can prove to be a leader in the subject of humanity if it can rise above the religious division. No bill which discriminates on the basis of identity should be made into an act by the parliament. Our social fabric has always remained strong and will continue to remain so only if we understand, accept and respect the diversity we have.

On another note, the bill does not make it clear what level of charges will lead to the cancellation of the OCI cardholder registration.

Various other factors and strong resistance has caused a bumpy ride for the government to pass the bill. It now remains as an ideological promise of the ruling government.

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Why The Indian Youth Is Not Entering Politics

ith the Karnataka elections in full swing, many young people were seen contributing to election campaigns in a significant way. So be it tweeting, sharing, appealing others to vote, discussing, etc – young people were actively involved in the whole process. Until the results come out, one cannot be sure about the real-time impact the participation of youth has created. But one thing we can be sure of is that lack of participation from the youth can definitely have an extremely negative effect on the overall results.

More than 50% of India’s population is below the age of 25, and more than 65% below 35. So going by statistics, India’s youth can play a fundamental role in shaping and running the biggest democracy in the world.  Yet, as per a recent report, only 6% of the leaders and ministers in the government of India are below the age of 35. This is really shocking and implies that in spite of the availability of talent, enthusiasm, knowledge and resources, the youth of this country are not interested in jumping onto the bandwagon, be a part of the politics in India and contribute in the workings of the country. Where we have numerous young and extremely successful entrepreneurs who are earning huge money, we don’t have an equal number of young political leaders who can run the country. We also have a majority of the population which just wants to criticise but when asked to change the situations themselves, they are completely reluctant to co-operate.

What exactly is keeping the young intelligent minds of this country from getting into politics? Why, even in the 21st century, do educated and bright youths not want to start a full-fledged political career?

Below are some of the factors that might be the reasons.

It is all so unpredictable and uncertain

Politics is unpredictable. Period.  Agreed, some of the parties in the Indian politics today provide huge economic benefits to the “karyakartas” sometimes even better than a highly paying job. But till what time? There is no job guarantee and there is no written contract protected by the law. Besides, most of the money provided is black and is liable to scrutiny. Once you go into it, you also have to play according to the rules of politics and the rules keep on changing based on the situation. What if the young people are not able to adapt? Families which are used to living a routine life with a monthly pay cheque would not advise their children to enter such a volatile field.

A fierce competition which stops at nothing 

If you think, nepotism exists only in Bollywood, think again. Indian politics is one of the world’s biggest fields for nepotism where most of the picture is run by the aristocratic, old Indian political families. A leader’s child is expected to follow their parent’s footsteps. Surprisingly, they might get more popular than a genuine youngster who has just entered the field and is working hard. It’s extremely difficult for the outsiders to prove one’s talent, work and achievements and reach out to the public at the grass root. Also, powerful netas have various means to ensure that a good newcomer is shown ‘their place’ if they come in the way of their successor’s path. And to add to it, there is hardly any guidance for the newcomer. So it’s a slippery situation altogether.

It’s all about money, honey!

No two thoughts about that. One has to have a lot of money to promote, advertise and publicise one’s own work.  More than the actual work one does, it’s more important today to promote the work. Millions are spent today on advertising and marketing. Even for doing some really good work, one requires money and it’s hard to come from middle-class families with limited savings and make a commitment. In such cases, one has to raise the money through illegal means which is a big reason not to enter politics.

In-house complexities and hidden agendas

Every member of the party has their own ambition to succeed and there are limited means of achieving that success. Parties have a very complex internal structure driven by egos and ambition. With the fierce competition inside and the ever-changing volatile situation outside, every member holds on to their own hidden agenda within the party. Any new entrant posing a threat to their agenda can be easily exterminated and stopped. It also creates major trust issues and long-term loyalties are hard to find. So young people find it difficult to sustain their goal and focus and everything thus becomes only a power game and not just the plain career choice it was supposed to be. Young people might not find it “worth it” in the long term.

The increasing graph of crime rates and criminal charges

Just do a check of the some of the big political parties in India and the number of politicos with criminal charges. It’s astounding and shocking. Every day there is some new story about the political parties and all the illegal practices happening within a party – be it corruption, murder, money laundering, land grabbing. This news can scare the shit out of even some of the bravest people around. It’s no surprise that youth want to keep away from the murky quicksand which can engulf anyone. No one is sure what happens. Even if they are clean what if they are wrongly implicated or cheated? Better keep away! Even parents are scared and would not want their children to enter a profession so full of lies, uncertainty, and danger.