Monday, December 9, 2019

Why we don't need CAB


There is one simple explanation as to why we do not need the CAB – we can no longer bear the burden of illegal migrants, whether he is a Hindu or a Muslim or any other religious community.

A counter-argument can be that we only have to take the burden of all those non-Muslim illegal migrants who came to India till 31 December 2014. But, how will the authorities be able to ascertain when a person had entered India? That person had entered India illegally, and hence there is no record of his date of entry. So, how will his/her date of entry be verified? Anyone can claim that they have entered India before 31 December 2014. No way of checking this claim. And, thus, someone entering India illegally today may also become an Indian citizen in due course of time, and, then demand and take a share of our resources.

Similarly, how will one know whether a person has been religiously persecuted? A Hindu from Bangladesh may have entered India illegally to look for better economic opportunities; but, he may say that he had faced religious persecution in that country. Where is the proof of that? Who will verify the validity of his claim?

(I sent an email to the Prime Minister’s Office asking these questions. Never got a reply. Guess, they don’t have an answer!)

And, when we talk about religious persecution, why is the Bill talking about only the non-Muslim communities coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan?

If we want to be generous to religiously-persecuted people, why is there no mention about the Rohingyas of Myanmar? In Pakistan, the Shias face religious persecution. Ahmadiyyas who align themselves with the Sunni school also face persecution. What about them?

Or, are we becoming a nation, who only protects the Hindus?

I don’t think that our founding fathers wanted our Country to be only an abode of the Hindus.

India is a great nation, because this is the motherland of numerous religious communities, who had lived together for generations.

Our Constitution describes us of being a ‘Secular’ Nation.

The Constitution also states that there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

And, now those very tenets of the Constitution are being violated by the CAB.

The elected leaders of our State have turned out to be spineless – totally bowing down to the pressure being given the Centre. They are putting their personal gains above those of the people and the state. They will realize one day that History has never been kind to such people.

The onus in now on the people to protest and make the government understand that an illegal migrant is an illegal migrant irrespective of religion. Whether he/she is a Muslim or a Hindu, it does not matter. If they have entered India without valid documents, they need to be deported back.

In a democracy, it is essential that the Government listen to the views of the people. Else, what is the use of having an elected government, who do not take into account the concern of the electors?

The CAB is a totally regressive, unconstitutional act and its place is only in the dustbin.

And, I am sure majority of Indians will agree with it.








1 comment:

  1. You have pointed out the most basic questions of a regular citizen like me. True, such measures are more of political nature than of genuine concern. Instead of giving permanent refuge, why not explore the possibility of issuing work visas and the like?

    ReplyDelete

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