Dear Editor,
I would like to express a few words on the citizenship amendment bill (CAB) and its possible impact on the indigenous people of Arunachal.
As per the provision of the bill, “persons belonging to minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh shall not be treated as illegal migrants.”
The bill undermines the normal precondition for naturalization citizenship. Instead of the illegal migrants having to stay for 12 years in the country, it has been halved to six years only. The bill also curtails the fundamental rights of the Indian constitution, like Article 15, which talks about indiscrimination of religion, and Article 14, which talks about equality before law and equal protection of law by not including Muslims in the ambit of the CAB, knowing that there are some Muslim minorities in our neighbouring countries who are facing same religious or minority persecution, such as the Rohingyas in Myanmar and the Ahmadis in Pakistan.
Targeting one religion and one community and promoting certain religions and communities may cause serious social problems.
The government of Arunachal must find a way to protect and preserve the true indigenous people. If this bill is passed, the biggest victims will be the people of the northeastern region, in terms of social disturbances and demographic imbalance, because most of the refugees are taking shelter in these states.
Sincerely,
Gumsing Vikas Rava Masang