Geopolitical divides may deepen in SA

Fourteen South Asian citizens said India’s Citizenship Amendment Act had the potential to deepen geopolitical divides among the countries of the region.

“We independent citizens of countries neighbouring India wish to register our reservations about the Citizenship Amendment Act adopted by India’s Parliament, which aims to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims who approach from three countries -- Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan,” read a joint statement issued on Thursday.

Signatories to the statement include Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury, rights activist Hameeda Hossain, photographer Shahidul Alam, Nepali writer Kanak Mani Dixit, and Pakistani nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy.

Other signatories are: Mahesh Maskey, Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati and Pratyoush Onta of Nepal; Arif Hasan, Beena Sarwar, A Rehman, and Mubashir Hasan of Pakistan; and Jayadeva Uyangoda and Sumathy Sivamohan of Sri Lanka.

“The act is discriminatory at the first instance because it targets Muslims beyond the stated intent of the law. It is unacceptable for any country including one with a secular constitution to distinguish between citizens, foreign or domestic, on the basis of religion,” the statement    said.

They questioned the Indian government’s logic behind wanting to offer citizenship to Hindu, Parsi, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Christian migrants who have fled persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan when there are also large numbers of Muslims of different sects enduring intolerance in the “three selected countries”.

With its action, the India government has made religious minorities in the three countries more vulnerable than before, they said.

The act has the potential to deepen geopolitical divides among the countries of South Asia at a time when they should be striving for peace and mutual understanding, the statement said.

“The signatories believe that India’s plans for growth and equity will be hurt by ill-advised attempts at social engineering, which will in turn also impact the population of the larger South Asian region.”