ABOUT US  |  CONTACT US  |  RSS  |  ARCHIVE  |  2024-03-28  |  UPDATED: 1402/11/15 - 18:13:1 FA | AR | PS | EN
Formation of the Federalist Assembly of Afghanistan             Israel launches missile attack on outskirts of Damascus, killing Syrian civilians             UK national scandal: 20,000 mental health patients raped, sexually assaulted in NHS care             Three US troops killed, dozens injured in drone attack in Syria             Trump says NATO will not come to rescue if US attacked             Ukraine beset by $40m fraud in arms procurement amid war with Russia            US approves sale of F-16 jets to Turkey after Ankara ratifies Swedens NATO membership             UNSC to meet to discuss ICJ ruling on Israeli genocide in Gaza             Taliban: Afghanistan Does Not Have Formal Border With Pakistan             Gazas major health facility collapses amid Israeli attacks: MSF             Americans to redeploy nuclear weapons in UK amid fears of WW3             Biden makes history: 1st sitting US president sued for complicity in genocide             Trump walks out of courtroom during closing arguments of Carrolls attorney            US: 3 dead in shooting at Texas apartment complex            US-UK aggression against Yemen risks expansion of war: Iran            


DATE PUBLISHED: 1398/10/05 - 00:07:5
VISIT: 1364
SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Modis Rightist Policies Increasingly Cause Crisis in India

Protesters have poured into streets across India to condemn a provocative citizenship law approved this month by the parliament. The demonstrations have led to clashes that have so far killed around two dozens of people.

The protestors argue that from now on around 200 million Muslim Indians, or about 15 percent of the total Indian population, will be marginalized as second-class citizens by the newly-passed law.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raised the bill in the lower house of the parliament. The law faced no serious opposition but from the leftist parties and some regional parties. It was approved by the higher house with a narrow margin as 125 voted for it and 105 voted against it.

Under the law which reviews the conditions of citizenship, such minorities as Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Christians, and Jains from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan can apply for citizenship. It, however, excludes the Muslim minorities despite the reports about violence against them in some neighboring countries.

Reacting to the law, the United Nations announced that India not only breaches its commitments specified under the international treaties and conventions but also glaringly violates its own constitution with the new citizenship law.

A set of states have asserted that they will not implement the new citizenship law as they find it constitutionally flawed. As a result, the Supreme Court is planned to soon issue a ruling concerning the dispute. The law and popular protests give the opposition parties an opportunity to attack the government of Modi ahead of parliamentary houses elections scheduled for January 2020. Pinarayi Vijayan, the leader of Left Democratic Front, said in the state Assembly Chennithala, that "we are only responsible for the ideals of the Indian constitution. It is a fight against authoritarianism and fascism. The government is using brute force to silence the people who are on the streets against the law meant to divide the people of the country on religious lines. We are not responsible for the fundamentalist and fascist ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party."

India has ahead the parliamentary houses elections. The upcoming vote is a big test for the nationalist BJP party and PM Modi.

The leftist parties on Tuesday called for nationwide demonstrations against the new citizenship law. The protests continue, according to reports from various Indian cities.

Over the past two days, the government showed an iron fist to students protesting the new law in two universities of Jamia Millia Islamia and Algarah Muslim Universities, both of which are old higher education centers in the country. In Jamia, the police forces attacked the peaceful students. Reports said the police forces chased the students to the dormitories and libraries and used tear gas there. Footages from the campuses appear to show police forces set fire to university busses. In Algarah, the police vandalized the motorcycles of the students, footage showed.

Upon eruption of the protests, the government shut down internet services in northeast India and regions where anti-government protests were intensive. According to figures, 67 percent of the worldwide internet shutdowns took place in India this year. The internet is shut down in the Jammu Kashmir region 136 days now. Since August 4, protests erupted in the disputed region over a Modi-led move to revoke the autonomy of Kashmir. Kashmir Chamber of Commerce stated that internet outage has caused $1.4 billion damage to the local businesses.

The protests against Modis law are backed by opponents of the austerity-affected economic policies of the PM. Opponents of Modis policies blast his compliance with the International Monetary Fund demands for structural reforms that require public spending cuts and tax increases to reduce debts. The government seeks to increase by 150 percent of the dormitories fees for leading New Delhi universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNC). If implemented, the plan will force at least half of the masters degree students to drop out.

Modis policies are detrimental to the workers and farmers while beneficial to the large businesses. It is no surprise that the labor and farming syndicates have called for public strike on January 8, a call that is expected to bring to the streets hundreds of thousands of farmers and workers.

The concerns and protests made Modi, who talked to his supporters on Monday, attempt to assure the Muslims of the country. He said: "The law does not impact 1.3 billion Indians, and I must assure Muslim citizens of India that this law will not change anything for them." He added that the government introduces the laws "without religious bias."

While the government and the PM are struggling to assure that the new law is not anti-Islamic and will not cause bias against the Muslims, Times of India newspaper has reported that the banks from now on may ask people to identify their religion as a result of the law.

Furthermore, the Financial Times newspaper has revealed the "unprecedented crackdown" on the Indian Muslims and predicted that the clampdown campaign may get even worse. The London-based paper held that the Muslim protestors may end up in new jails built by the government. The new law will pave the way for further discrimination against the Muslims who are essentially under Hindu majority pressure.

Now it should be seen if Modis administration will walk back from its decision in response to the popular protests, or Indian cities will sink in further violence and unrest as the demonstrations persist.

 

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/12289


TAGS:






*
*

*



SEE ALSO

Federalism in Afghanistan: Opportunities and Challenges


Hamas has self-reliantly opposed the three giant intelligence agencies of the world!


Gaza Field Executions New Page in Israel Crimes Book


Lest we forget: Christmas, Gaza genocide and the Israeli occupation


Whats behind Netanyahu Declaring War on Palestinian Authority?


The Zionist right to defend itself is a license to oppress, kill Palestinians


With Netanyahu Struggling in Gaza Quagmire, Gaps Deepen inside His Cabinet


How the Zionist entity sought to make colonial myth of terra nullius a reality


Factbox: Israeli genocidal war on Gaza What has happened so far?


Taliban De-Persianizing Afghanistan Culture: Roots and Ramifications





VIEWED
MOST DISCUSSED




POLL

Modi, Merkel Discuss Afghanistan, Radicalisation And Terrorism

SEE RESULT


LAST NEWS

Federalism in Afghanistan: Opportunities and Challenges

Formation of the Federalist Assembly of Afghanistan

Israel launches missile attack on outskirts of Damascus, killing Syrian civilians

UK national scandal: 20,000 mental health patients raped, sexually assaulted in NHS care

Three US troops killed, dozens injured in drone attack in Syria

Trump says NATO will not come to rescue if US attacked

Ukraine beset by $40m fraud in arms procurement amid war with Russia

US approves sale of F-16 jets to Turkey after Ankara ratifies Swedens NATO membership

UNSC to meet to discuss ICJ ruling on Israeli genocide in Gaza

Taliban: Afghanistan Does Not Have Formal Border With Pakistan

Gazas major health facility collapses amid Israeli attacks: MSF

Americans to redeploy nuclear weapons in UK amid fears of WW3

Biden makes history: 1st sitting US president sued for complicity in genocide

Trump walks out of courtroom during closing arguments of Carrolls attorney

US: 3 dead in shooting at Texas apartment complex

US-UK aggression against Yemen risks expansion of war: Iran

Yemen directly hits US warship with ballistic missile

Hamas has self-reliantly opposed the three giant intelligence agencies of the world!

President Raeisi calls for UN reform, says body unable to end Gaza genocide

Pedram: The Abduction of Hazara and Tajik Women Recalls the Crimes of Abdur Rahman

Special envoys from G7 countries discuss Afghanistan in London meeting

Turkish lawmakers open debate over Swedens NATO membership

UN agency says over half a million Palestinians face catastrophic hunger in Gaza

Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Al-Maghazi operation proved defeat of Israeli regime in Gaza war

European support for Israel damaging energy security on the continent, report says

Pakistan Army Kills Seven Terrorists Near Afghan Border

Israel kills at least 190 people in Khan Younis in 24 hours

UNAMA report: 49 Hazara community members killed in Afghanistan in three months

Indias Modi inaugurates Hindu temple on site of razed mosque ahead of elections

US 2024 election: DeSantis drops out of Republican presidential race, backs Trump

Survivors of Russian charter flight crash transferred to Kabul

Irans anti-terror strikes clear message to certain recipients: Foreign Ministry

Ethnic mass killings in one Sudan city last year left up to 15,000 dead: UN report

Iran says reserves right to avenge Israels assassination of IRGC advisors

Rocket barrage targets Ain al-Asad base housing US forces in western Iraq

Lebanese media: Israeli drone kills 2 Hamas members in southern Lebanon

Five IRGC advisors assassinated in Israeli aggression on Syria

Pakistan recalls ambassador from Tehran

Iraqi PM stresses to NATO chief ending of foreign troops

UN chief reiterates call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza


MEDICAL NEWS


ANSAR PRESS  |  ABOUT US  |  CONTACT US  |  MOBILE VERSION  |  LINKS  |  DESIGN: Negah Network Co.
All right reserved. Use this website by mentioning the source (link) is allowed. Ԑ یی