NewsClick

NewsClick
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Covid-19
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • International
  • Sports
  • Articles
  • Videos
search
menu

INTERACTIVE ELECTION MAPS

image/svg+xml
  • All Articles
  • Newsclick Articles
  • All Videos
  • Newsclick Videos
  • हिन्दी
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Science
  • Culture
  • India
  • Sports
  • International
  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Palestine
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • US
  • West Asia
About us
Subscribe
Follow us Facebook - Newsclick Twitter - Newsclick RSS - Newsclick
close menu
×
For latest updates on nCOVID-19 around the world visit our INTERACTIVE COVID MAP
Politics
India
International
US

Opposing CAA, Sanctioning Indian Officials Must Be US Foreign Policy Priority: USCIRF

While addressing the US Congress, Harrison Akins said, “The CAA could become a weapon to target millions of Indian Muslims, potentially leading to their disenfranchisement. This represents a significant downward turn in religious freedom that no government, including the United States government, can ignore.”
Newsclick Report
29 Jan 2020
While addressing the US Congress, Harrison Akins

The US must oppose the new Indian law that aims at “denying citizenship to Muslims and render them stateless, subject to detention and deportation”, an official with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has said, referring to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The US government must also consider the “use of targeted sanctions against Indian officials primarily responsible for religious freedom violations” said Harrison Akins, policy analyst (South Asia) with USCIRF, while addressing the US Congress on Monday, according to a press release by Indian American Muslim Council.

In conjunction with a potential nationwide National Register of Citizens and National Population Register, the CAA “could become a weapon to target millions of Indian Muslims, potentially leading to their disenfranchisement. This represents a significant downward turn in religious freedom that no government, including the United States government, can ignore,” Akins said.

“In India today, the freedom of religion or belief is being decimated as individuals are targeted simply due to their religious identity, in violation of India’s own Constitution,” Akins said at a Briefing titled “Implications of India’s Citizenship Law (CAA)”.

“It is imperative that in US government officials’ interaction with their Indian counterparts, these issues are elevated as a US foreign policy priority, communicating the need to protect shared democratic values.”

Akins said in its dealing with India, US should deploy “a vast array of tools [it] has in its arsenal to promote religious freedom abroad, both through positive engagement and punitive action”. Such tools include “integration of religious freedom in US development programmes or law enforcement training” and “sanctions”.

Last month, after Indian Parliament passed CAA, USCIRF had called for the US government to sanction India’s Home Minister Amit Shah.

Monday’s briefing was attended by staffs from the House Committee on Judiciary and from the offices of 20 Members of Congress, including seven US senators. Officials from Department of State, which implements US-India policy, also attended it.

The briefing was organised by Indian American Muslim Council, the largest Indian American advocacy group in the US working for minority rights in India; Hindus for Human Rights; Council on American-Islamic Relations; and Emgage Action.

In its Annual Report, special reports and public statements, USCIRF has “long expressed its concern that this law is part of an effort by [Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party] BJP government to create a religious test for Indian citizenship in line with their vision of a Hindu state,” Akins said.

“As is abundantly evident from the statements of BJP leadership, the CAA with its legal protections for non-Muslims is intended to ensure that those excluded from the NRC process, and therefore bearing the label of illegal migrant, are Muslims alone.”

The NRC held in Assam last year showed the “process is rife for abuse by government officials for excluding individuals simply perceived to be foreign regardless of their citizenship status,” Akins said. “It is Muslims who will carry the threat of punitive action from the NRC, including prolonged detention, deportation, or statelessness.”

Akins called out the ideology of Hindutva, professed by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah, that perceives Islam and Christianity as “foreign religions”.

“Conditions for religious minorities have deteriorated precipitously in India. BJP politicians have used the symbols of Hinduism and policies aimed at their protection as weapons against minority communities in their quest to shape a Hindu nation.

“From instituting more aggressive bans and stricter punishments for cow slaughter and religious conversion activities, minorities are increasingly marginalized and discriminated against.

“Combined with the BJP’s inflammatory rhetoric, these coordinated actions strengthen the perception that minorities are outsiders with no legitimate place in Indian history or society and, by their mere presence, a potential threat from within to the project of making India a Hindu nation.

“This creates a culture of impunity for violence against minorities by both government authorities and non-state actors as a near daily reality for minority communities.”

Also read: To Protect Constitution and Oppose CAA, Lakhs Take to Streets

Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
US Congress
CAA
Indian American Muslim Council
BJP
NRC
NPR
Anti-CAA Protests
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Narendra Modi
Related Stories
Bengal Elections: There’s a Triangular Contest; Strong Undercurrent Against TMC, BJP: BK Hariprasad

Bengal Elections: There’s a Triangular Contest; Strong Undercurrent Against TMC, BJP: BK Hariprasad

assam foreign tribunal

Gauhati HC Overturns FT Order, Declares Man to be Indian Citizen

Madras HC quashes FIR against CAA protestor, upholds freedom of speech

Madras HC Quashes FIR Against CAA Protestor, Upholds Freedom of Speech

As India jostles with second COVID-19 wave, it must introduce minimum basic income programme

As India Jostles With Second COVID-19 Wave, It Must Introduce Minimum Basic Income Programme

KTK Transport Strike

Karnataka: ‘Thaalis Banged’ on Sixth Day of KSRTC Workers Strike

Bihu Assam

Over 30 Committees Stage Protest in Guwahati Demanding Relaxation in Govt SOP for Bihu Functions

Gujarat

Covid-19: Gujarat HC says State Heading Towards a "Health Emergency”, Gov't Stays Silent

Violence Bengal poll

Bengal Elections: EC Mum as BJP Tries to Communalise Sitalkuchi Firing Incident

SC

Will Supreme Court Apply Rohingya Case Logic to CAA?

Unnao Rape Case

Activists Condemn Candidature of Rape Convict Sengar’s Wife in Panchayat Elections

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare via EmailShare on RedditShare on KindlePrint
Share

Related Stories

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

What a BJP Victory in Bengal Would Mean for India – a Step Closer to Hindu Rashtra

15 April 2021
In this exclusive interview, eminent political scientist Professor Partha Chatterjee explains the historical importance of Hindu nationalist organi
Newsclick Report

Non-Official Members of Newly Constituted MSME Board Primarily BJP-RSS Affiliates: Report

15 April 2021
The newly-constituted Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Board which will play an important role in reviewing policy for the sector has a large con
Rabindra Nath Sinha

West Bengal Polls: In the Hills, Compulsions Dictate Local Outfits’ Decisions

15 April 2021
Kolkata, April 14: Political outfits in the Darjeeling Hills – which include

Pagination

  • Next page ››

More

  • MARKAZ

    Delhi HC Allows 50 Persons to Offer Namaz at Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque

  • migrant labour.

    Migrant Labour Exodus 2.0: Mumbai's Railway Stations Repeat Scenes from 2020

  • hEALTH iNFRA MAHA COVID

    COVID-19: Patients Wait for Treatment as Maharashtra's Healthcare System Reels under Stress

  • COIVD-19 Vaccine

    People’s Science Network Urges Centre to Address Vaccine Shortage, Ramp up Testing

  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with
about