New Delhi, June 3, 2016: The Indian government may not be speaking much on the minority human rights crisis in Pakistan and Bangladesh but it is slowly opening up the doors for citizenship for the affected minorities such as the Hindus.
In the latest move that will bring much-needed respite for the Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the home ministry has finalized draft amendments in the citizenship law which will exempt minority citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have come to India due to religious prosecution, to be called the “illegal migrants”.
Many victims from Pakistan and Bangladesh suffer from this branding as they are seen as ‘undesirable’ and run into problems with the local law-enforcement agencies. But it seems that the Modi government is serious about tackling the issue which largely affects Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, and Buddhists.
The changes in the Citizenship Act of 1955 will help the migrants who move out of their countries, to stay put in India and claim the Indian citizenship while staying on the Indian soil.
This decision will likely encourage the non-Muslim minority communities to see India as a favourable destination which will provide them a roof when their own countries violate their human rights. At the same time, the government is likely to curtail economic migration, such as those coming from Bangladesh, to ensure that the population burden does not become unbearable for India.
Many Hindus and Sikhs have been forced to migrate to India due to religious persecution while India is also picking and choosing the Muslims who could be granted the citizenship, such as Adnan Sami from Pakistan who got citizenship this year.
