Why in news?
- As protests continue to ripple in many parts of the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, or the CAA, the National Population Register (NPR) and allied issues, their nature, content and direction have drawn critical attention
- The discriminatory CAA targets Muslims, but the protests were driven by the wider civil society at the beginning
- Incendiary speeches and slogans at anti-CAA protests, and even support for Islamist politics, have put non-sectarian opponents of the law in a difficult spot
Way ahead
- The BJP must immediately adopt a path of reconciliation and resolution, by making a further amendment to the CAA that will not prioritize religious persecution over other forms of persecution
- Amending the law to remove the arbitrary selection of countries and religious groups, the current turmoil can be easily calmed
- No protester is against welcoming the persecuted from three neighboring countries listed in the CAA, issue is against the arbitrariness in choosing the countries and excluding Muslims from these countries.
