ABAP suggests inclusion of certain classes of people in citizenship definition

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Correspondent

Silchar, Oct 6: Members of Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP), Silchar unit have expressed their opinion in a letter, in the last week of September, addressed to Dr Satyapaul Singh, chairperson, Joint Parliamentary Committee, New Delhi, requesting him to examine the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that was recently tabled in one of the last sessions of the Parliament. They have requested the chairperson to channelize their carefully considered opinion regarding inclusion of certain classes of people for guaranteeing their rights as citizens of the country in the Bill. They stated that the Bill in question is but the tural consequence of the long cherished dreams, caged hopes and aspirations of certain sections of people of Erstwhile East Pakistan or the present day Bangladesh belonging to the minority community of that country.

 Members of the Parishad mentioned that it would not be ipposite to express that due to the impudence of Mohammad Ali Jinh and ulterior motives of some ambitious political leaders during the freedom struggle of India, the country became fragmented, which in turn, plunged our forefathers in the sea of indelible miseries and sufferings, most of whom were from the eastern part of undivided India and were Hindus. It is known to all mostly the Bengali Hindus of the eastern part of undivided India, under Bengal Presidency until 1874, and of those areas comprising entire Surva valley, Cachar and Goalpara district had been incorporated under the administrative jurisdiction of the Chief Commissioner of the State of Assam, bore the brunt of the Direct Action plan which was engineered by Jinh and controlled by the then Chief Minister of Bengal, wab Surawadi.

 Great Calcutta killings and Noakhali Hindu killings in 1946 are the worst examples of Hindu Bengali holocaust in the anls of mass genocide history. The partition of undivided India based on two tion theory game plan of Jinh-led Muslim League with the tacit support of Nehru-led Congress party caused mass Hindu influx into the territories of the states of Assam, West Bengal and Tripura from the Erstwhile East Pakistan which led to the formation of present day Bangladesh. They were rather forced and still have been being forced to enter the Eastern states of India being persecuted by Muslim people of that territory on ground of indifference of religion, culture, taste and tiolity. It should be mentioned here that the very seed of migration was sown through the Great Calcutta killings on and from August 16, 1946 and the subsequent Noakhali killings.

The attack on Hindu comprising Bengalis, Marowaris, Manipuris, Chakmas and Reangs and so on by the majority Muslims was brazen, ked and indiscrimite and took place on the ground of religious and cultural difference with hidden objective of transforming the whole region into Darh-Ul-Islam. As such, those victims compulsively had to migrate into the states of Assam, West Bengal and Tripura, forming the parts of independent and truncated India immediately after partition of undivided India with the sole objective of securing their life, religion, culture and future and this course still remains unchanged ever since the creation of a new sovereign tion, Bangladesh in 1971. The condition of the minorities of Bangladesh, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains and Sikhs, and people believing in indigenous faith and culture, became very miserable under such circumstances.

 In this regard, members of the Parishad have requested the authorities concerned to view this in its proper perspective while considering bringing any change, amendment, alteration and or inclusion in the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. In the UN Convention relating to the status of ‘Refugees’, it has been categorically mentioned in the Universal Covents on Human Rights that the refugees, taking shelter in the tion of their choice out of fear or persecution on the grounds of race, religion and culture should be provided with all sorts of protection of human rights by the state. Logically, India being a part of such Convention, the government should guarantee and protect all civil, political and Fundamental Rights to and of the displaced minorities of Bangladesh.

 It has been clearly mentioned in the letter that as the tion was divided on the basis of two tion theory, She should not overburden herself to take up the responsibility of those people belonging to Muslim community, illegally entering into any part of Assam from Islamic Bangladesh after March 25, 1971 and that they shall be treated as Foreigners as per the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 and prosecuted accordingly. However, in respect of the rest of the country, the Act with its all rules and orders should always prevail only in respect of Muslim intruders entering into Indian territory from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

 Also, the minorities of the above mentioned countries, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains, who came and or have been coming to any part of India from the specified areas of the present Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, under extreme fear of being basis of religion, culture and faith, should be kept outside the purview of Foreigners Act, 1946, Citizenship Act 1955 (specifically section 6-A thereof) and the relevant rules framed there under. So, under such circumstances, in the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the intent and purpose of legislation should be specifically and clearly mentioned in its Extent and Application Clauses and the overriding effect of this proposed Bill over all other Acts, Laws and Rules in force in India only, which are repugnt to the context, in respect of those migrants, who are minority in Islamic Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and not others should be specifically provided and the Citizenship Act 1955, specifically section 2 Interpretation Clause, Section 5 provision of Citizenship by registration with any time limit, 7 years, should be waived in respect of all migrants who are the minority people of those Islamic countries, section 6-A special provisions as to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord should be made applicable for the illegal migrants only, the definition of which as in (b) (1) of Sec. 2 of Citizenship Act 1955 needs to be amended so as to exclude from its connotation Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis, Sikhs and Jains in the present day of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

 The Parishad has also stated that the ongoing NRC update process is going at a sil’s pace and that the ministry should take up the gauntlet to raise the issue at appropriate level so that the update process gets completed within a very short time which in turn will exclude any possibility of wrong entry of even a single illegal migrant in the tiol Register of Citizens. They have also requested that persons belonging to minority community of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have migrated to any part of India from the fear of religious, racial or cultural prosecution, should be considered for direct entry in NRC and all the benefits of a bofide citizen should be accorded to those migrants. They have also mentioned that tiolist and indigenous Muslims who did not emigrate to Erstwhile East Pakistan (the present Bangladesh), Erstwhile West Pakistan or to any Islamic country after the partition of India, which occurred on Hindu Muslim basis, rather as true patriots opted for citizenship of predomintly Hindus and secular India, their mes should also find space in NRC.