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Editor’s Note

CAA puts country on the boil,

Modi tries to assuage tempers

INDIA’S NORTHEAST, particularly Assam-Meghalaya- Supreme Court on the ground that it is discriminatory and
Tripura and West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and some ensures that illegal Muslim migrants excluded.
other parts of the country have been rocked by protests The events also cast a shadow on foreign relations,
after the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment Act) with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen
that provides for giving Indian citizenship by naturali- saying his country has requested India to provide a list
zation to members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi of Bangladesh nationals living illegally in the country
and Christian communities. and that it will allow them to return as they have the
It appears that the government did not apprehend right to enter into their own country.
the bash back as its intent was to provide facilitate The Modi government had in the past done well
citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Budhists, Jains, Parsis on strengthening India’s foreign policy outreach on
and Christians who had who crossed over from various international platforms.
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, But on the diplomatic front the protests would
2014. be a big blow as the Japanese Prime Minister Shin-
What would be the political impact in West Bengal zo Abe has postponed his India trip for an an-
and Northeast would be seen in future because the BJP nual bilateral summit. The UN human rights of-
is in power in all the seven states while its performance fice, the Commission on International Religious
during the 2019 Lok Sabha election has been good and Freedom and the House Foreign Affairs Committee
it won 18 of the 25 seats in this region. The party also have also criticized CAA for undermining the basic
wants to reinforce itself in West Bengal. tenets of democracy.
The reason for the blowback in Northeastern states is France, Israel, the U.S. and the U.K. have issued travel
that people fear that the new legislation will endanger advisories for nationals travelling to India in view of the
their cultural and linguistic identities while in Bengal, ongoing protests. States like West Bengal, Punjab and
Uttar Pradesh and Delhi where protests have turned Kerala have refused to implement it.
violent, the Citizenship Act is being criticized for alleg- The series of tweets by Prime Minister, Narendra
edly discriminating against Muslims. Modi to assuage the tempers saying that “CAA does not
Assamese apprehend that the Assam Accord of 1985 affect any citizen of India as illustrates India’s centuries
will now be rendered redundant. The Assam Accord old culture of acceptance, harmony, compassion and
regarded all those who entered the state after 1971 as brotherhood”, are welcome, though late.
illegal immigrants.
The Act is now also being challenged in the CHARANJIT AHUJA

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VOLUME 16, ISSUE NO. 26, 20 DECEMBER 2019, RELEASED ON 20 DECEMBER, NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 68
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