The Shaheen Bagh movement must not be seen as only a movement of Muslims though it was primarily led by Muslim women. Moreover, it would also be a mistake to believe that the movement had died after it was forced to come to an end on March 24, 2020 after the lockdown, and the updation of NPR and other related field activities have since been postponed. The protests held to mark second anniversary of the Shaheen Bagh movement indicate that it may resurrect whenever the process of such updation will start.There are additional reasons for that. For example, the CAA was brought at a time in 2019 when the BJP found that majority of the people who could not prove their citizenship were Hindus. It therefore aims to facilitate grant of citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian community from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered into India on or before December 31, 2014 and who have been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder. The CAA has already been notified on December 12, 1019 and has come into force w.e.f January 10, 2020. The CAA excludes Muslims which is against the principle of equality before law.In reply to a question in Parliament, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had said, “Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at national level.” The government has decided to update the NPR under the Citizenship Act, 1955 along with the first phase of Census, 2021. The demographic and other particulars of each family and individual were to be updated and collected during the exercise of updation of NPR. No document was to be collected during the exercise. However, due to outbreak of COVID-19, the updation of NPR and other related field activities have been postponed.It means that a Damocles’ Sword is still hanging on our head, and the government officials can anytime ask us to prove our citizenship, which crores of people in the country from all communities, not only Muslims, cannot prove, as we have seen in the case of Assam. We will then be at the mercy of government officials, and a person without citizenship will lose all legal rights to have facilities like medical aid, jobs, food, land, home, etc. Until and unless CAA-NRC-NPR are formally withdrawn, resurrection of innumerable Shaheen Baghs across the country is imminent. (IPA Service)Views are personal
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