'Anti-Muslim' Citizenship law in force in India before election

The controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been implemented in India. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing government announced rules to implement the law. 

According to a report by Al Jazeera, Narendra Modi's government implemented the 'anti-Muslim' Citizenship Amendment Act just weeks before the elections.

Lok Sabha elections in the country by next May. Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to secure a third term in this election.

The controversial law was passed by the BJP government in 2019 after winning the elections for the second time. This Act will grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from India's neighboring countries.

Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India before 2014 from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will be eligible for citizenship, the government announced.

Several human rights groups have termed the law as 'anti-Muslim' as it excludes the Muslim community from citizenship. It has also raised questions about the secular character of the world's largest democracy.

The passage of the law in December 2019 sparked mass protests across India. The Modi government did not draft the law due to the protests.

Violence broke out in the capital New Delhi during the protests. Which turned into a riot at one point. Dozens of people were killed in the riots that lasted for days. Most of them are Muslims. Besides, hundreds were injured.

According to a Reuters report citing a spokesperson of the BJP government, the government has announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The spokesperson said it was an integral part of BJP's 2019 election manifesto. It will facilitate the victims to get citizenship in India.

But Muslim groups say the CAA, combined with the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), could discriminate against India's 200 million Muslims. Muslims fear that the government may revoke the citizenship of Muslims without documents in some border states.

However, the Modi government has denied this allegation, saying it is not anti-Muslim. It also defended the law, saying the law was needed to help minorities facing persecution in Muslim-majority countries.

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