Key Summary
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA):
- Enforced by India’s Hindu-led government from 2019, offering an expedited pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries.
- Excludes persecuted Muslims, drawing criticism as anti-Muslim and reinforcing a Hindu-first ideology.
Political Context:
- Prime Minister Modi’s BJP, rooted in Hindutva ideology, aims for a Hindu-first nation, sparking polarization and violence historically.
- Critics condemn Modi’s handling of past riots and perceive CAA as undermining India’s constitution, sparking major protests.
Implications:
- CAA enforcement could strengthen BJP’s majority in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, posing risks to India’s Muslim population.
- Economic slowdown and international condemnation follow CAA’s passage, affecting domestic stability and foreign investment.
Solutions:
- International condemnation and pressure on Modi’s government to revoke or amend CAA.
- Potential sanctions by economically influential countries like the United States.
- United Nations intervention to address CAA’s discriminatory nature on a global scale.
Conclusions:
- Despite concerns raised by the US and UN, without a unified international coalition, Modi’s government is unlikely to amend CAA.
- BJP’s potential supermajority in parliament signals continued challenges for India’s minority communities and democratic norms.
India’s Hindu led government has announced that it will enforce a citizenship law from 2019 that has since been dormant. The initial passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) drew violent riots as protestors and critics claimed that law was anti-muslim. The CAA offers persecuted religious minorities from specific nearby countries, an expedited pathway to Indian citizenship. The religions accepted for an accelerated pathway are persecuted Buddhists, Christians, Hindu’s, Jains, Parsees, and Sikhs from nearby countries. However, the exclusion of persecuted Muslims in the CAA coupled with India’s history of muslim violence and their proximity to Islam majority countries in the Middle East. Prime Minister Modi’s government defends this exclusion by stating that Muslims are not a minority in any of the countries included in the CAA. The announcement that the CAA will take effect comes in the midst of a general election, hinting at trying to induce a rally effect from Hindu voters. It also signals the power that Prime Minister Modi has over shaping India as a Hindu first nation.
Prime Minister Modi belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been the dominant political party since the late 1990’s. The emergence of the BJP came from a previous party, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS). The BJS was formed in 1951 as a political wing of the pro-Hindu group, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The BJS, advocated for a Hindu-first nation through an ideology called Hindutva, or “Hindu-ness”, formed by Indian politician from 1922 Vinayak Savarkar. The BJP picked up on this ideology in 1989, as they began to gain electoral seats from a Hindu nationalist and anti-muslim campaign. The party has also been criticized for inciting polarization and violence between the Islam and Hindu community as was seen in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Prime Minister Modi has been repeatedly condemned by other political officials for his actions during the Gujarat riots and his acknowledgement of the massacre. The underlying Hindu-first nationalist roots of the BJP and the historical context of the anti-muslim riots in India is what have drawn major protests to the CAA. Muslims, opposition political parties, and rights groups say that the exclusion of Muslims in the CAA undermines India’s constitution that enshrines rights to religious freedom.
Prime Minister Modi and his government passed this law through the justification that it is a humanitarian response to the increase of migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. However, this law would benefit Hindu refugees, which is advantageous for Prime Minister Modi to secure their votes in preparation for the Lok Sabha elections which are expected to be in either April or May. The expedited process of citizenship to these Hindu refugees could tip the mathematical favorites of some of the elections of representatives to the Lok Sabha. This ultimately could give the BJP a majority in parliament.
The political implications of the CAA enforcement could result in the BJP having a stronger majority in the Lok Sabha. It could also result in the BJP winning a majority in the Rajya Sabha come July and August. The possibility of a supermajority in India’s bicameral legislature poses a possible humanitarian danger to Muslims living in India. When the CAA law was originally passed in 2019, it came during a slow period of India’s economy. Many economic critics pointed out that this policy was not only invented to discriminate against Muslims, but that it appeared to be a deceitful vehicle to deflect public grievances from the economic slowdown to legislation on citizenship. Humanitarian critics also called out India’s government requesting they roll back the law or codify Muslims into it. These factors not only caused disturbances domestically, but they also caused international investment issues. Venture capitalist, Tim Draper, stated that he began to rethink investments into India following the passage of the CAA law.
With the CAA law being dormant, the recent enforcement announcement comes at a politically advantageous time for the BJP and Prime Minister Modi. These rallying effect policies and announcements have proven to be indirect ways of inciting Hindu nationalist confidence against India’s minority Muslim population.
Despite the CAA already being codified into Indian law, there are international pressures and solutions that other countries can address to condemn this discriminatory policy against Muslims. The first solution is for governments to publicly condemn Prime Minister Modi and his government’s actions for passing, codifying, and enforcing the CAA. By doing this, it draws more attention from citizenry and NGOs around the world to provide external support to the marginalized group. Secondly, countries with strong economic ties to India, like the United States, could posit sanctions until progress towards nullifying or amending the CAA is achieved. Thirdly, a more formal and extreme solution would be for the United Nations to bring the enforcement of the CAA up to a trial. We forecast that highly democratized countries and institutions will continue to condemn the passage and enforcement of the CAA, as the right to religious freedom and equal treatment of all communities is a fundamental belief and norm of democratic states.
The United States and the United Nations have already publicly announced their concerns and reservations with the CAA. However, without an international coalition it is unlikely that Prime Minister Modi and his government will amend the CAA prior to his election. This will likely result in the BJP winning a supermajority in both houses of parliament.
Author: Tucker Henry