Why CAA is a fraud for the persecuted Hindus and other minorities from neighbouring countries?

CAA: A fraud by GOI and gimmick by BJP on the persecuted Hindus and other minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.

Hearing on CAA applications started in West Bengal, all could not give documents in Nadia, what will happen next? Matua people want ‘unconditional’ citizenship.

~ Upananda Brahmachari

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, hearings on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were started in Delhi, Rajastan and some other states including Bengal. On May 15, some 14 people — nine from the Adarsh Nagar camp and five from Majnu Ka Tila in Delhi— were granted Indian citizenship under the CAA. These people belong to thousands, who fled persecution in Pakistan and settled in India.

Sources said, more than 3000 applications reached to the authorities in Delhi, Rajastan and some other states from which only 260 are set to be finalized to granting citizenship under CAA in the next couple of months.

According to sources, more than two hundred applications have already been submitted in Nadia, West Bengal. But many of them could not submit proper documents. The question is what will be their position now?

In fact, this question has been the subject of political debate for a long time. Opponents are claiming that if the application is cancelled, there will be no citizenship for the applicants. The Union Home Minister countered that the cancellation of the application actually means that it has been proved that you are already a citizen. This time, when the applications of so many people were rejected, but there was no response from the Union Home Ministry authoritatively.

According to administrative sources, the superintendents of the postal department have also started the hearing based on the online application on the CAA portal of the residents of the states. However, some of the applicants are not able to show their residential documents in the country they left. They are being returned for this time.

According to postal department sources, 221 people have applied so far from WB’s Nadia. Out of them only 35 were able to upload the documents properly. 28 of them were called for hearing on Monday, 24 turned up. Four of them could not show even one of the 10 documents prescribed as proof of coming from Bangladesh. They have been returned. The remaining seven were called on Tuesday. Two of them did not come; the remaining five were able to show the documents of Bangladesh. Superintendent Gaurangcharan Vera of Nadia District Postal Department said on this day, “According to the guidelines, the documents of the applicants are being scrutinized and steps are being taken.”

What will happen to those who could not show the documents to come from Bangladesh? The Superintendent of Posts did not respond to this question. However, a source in the department claims that they will be called again to show the documents. The question arises, Even then if they cannot show the document? This question was unanswered.

Actually, there is a little difference between the application format between any non-citizen (foreigner) to apply Indian citizenship in normal procedures and an application under the Citizenship Amendment Act, enacted in 2020. The normal procedures for applying citizenship need to submit the document of passport and visa which has been avoided in the case of applying citizenship under CAA. The other entire criterion is same for the applying citizenship in both cases.

It must be noted here, that the most of the Hindu migrants from Pakistan applying for Indian Citizenship under CAA have come to India with a visa for pilgrimage and accordingly they carry their passport and Pakistani residential documents which are helpful to get their Indian citizenship under CAA.

But, the story of Bengali Hindu refugees or migrants from Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan, is quite different. Most of them came to India at the time of Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 or subsequent times occurring in the periods of communal turmoil in India affecting the Bangladesh situations. Many of such Hindu migrant people from Bangladesh do not carry any Bangladesh document or any passport or visa.

However, the Union Home Ministry has informed that the application may be rejected due to procedural errors. It all depends on Empowered Committee. However, if someone’s application is rejected, he can apply again. The question is, is he no longer a citizen during this transitional time? There was no reply from Delhi either.

Sauvik Chakraborty, one of the members of BJP’s State CAA Implementation Committee, however, claims, “There is an alternative provision in the form that the documents will be submitted later. Many have obtained citizenship in different parts of the country despite not being able to submit the documents.” But what if the document is requested later and still no one can submit it? Souvik claims, “A new section will be added to the law and it will be said that the certificates given by various religious and social organizations will be submitted.” The question has arisen, and then will the new section be added to cut this haze? But, this is a matter of further amendment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, not just an election gimmick or the puzzle of words delivered by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as directed by only ‘Guarantee-wala’ PM Narendra Modi.

A prominent leader of Bengali refugee movement associated with BJP, who did not want to be named, expressed his views on recent move for CAA as BJP’s fraud with more or less one crore Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh. He said, “CAA is a fraud law and dishonest in its intent with a cutoff date of 31 December 2014 as CAA says that only those who sought refuge/applied before that date are eligible. Had the intent been generous and honorable there wouldn’t have been a cutoff date at all.” He also condemned the Union Home Minster for unnecessarily delayed over four years to frame a rule and format for application under CAA just dropping only the document of passport and visa without realizing the issues of Hindu migrants from Bangladesh.

In Ranaghat-Bangaon, inhabited by refugee Matua people, the demand for citizenship has long been one of the deciding issues in the elections. According to a source in the administration, many Matua people have applied  citizenship under CAA in Nadia so far. Sushil Basu, president of the Nadia North organizational district of the pro-BJP Matua organization, claimed, “The Modi government will take steps to give citizenship to everyone after the election.”

Pramatharanjan Bose, president of Trinamool affiliated Matua organization, countered by saying, “BJP is giving ‘ganjakhuri’ (high on ganja-cannabis) stories. Those who applied will later realize how big of a mistake they made. Why are they applying even though Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has forbade them from applying for the CAA, claiming that there is a danger of becoming a citizen?”

Gopal Sarkar, Dhanendranath Sarkar, who came to the hearing in the postal department on this day, countered, “The Chief Minister also banned Aadhaar card. And now Aadhaar card is now required everywhere. We don’t want to be in danger listening to her!”

But, most of the aspirant Matua people across West Bengal want ‘unconditional’ citizenship without any cutoff date.

According to eminent Economist Prof. Abul Barkata of Dhaka University, from 1964 to 2013, around 11.3 million (1.13 Crore) Hindus left Bangladesh due to religious persecution and discrimination. Mentioning it, the BJP leader linked with Refugee movement (who did not want to be named) said, “More than 60% of such migrant/refugee people already got their EPIC, Aadhaar, Ration card etc. with the help of local political parties and tout agencies. The left out people (out of which a good numbers came to India after 31.12.2014)obviously lack the required documents for which the CAA is a lame instrument to get Indian citizenship posing a mockery and fraud to the applicants.”

According to Subhash Chakroborty, a veteran Refugee leader and President of Nikhil Bango Nagarik Sangha, some 11 lakh families left East Pakistan between 1947 and 1964, as an onslaught of partition and aftermath that got their citizenship and rehabilitation in India with some certain exceptions. Some 1.2 religiously persecuted Hindus forced to leave Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) and came to India out of which 45% people still suffer for their citizenship issue. “CAA is not the permanent solution for these de-facto stateless Hindus from Bangladesh” Chakroborty added. He also mentioned a huge numbers of Bangladeshi Hindus living in detention camps in Assam without getting any help from the high sounded Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Referring his organization’s representation to the Dr Satyapal Singh led Joint parliamentary Committee on CAA in 2015-16, Subhash Chakroborty said, “We urged the CAA Parliamentary committee to frame a permanent refugee policy in order to accept all the Hindu root persecuted people from neighboring countries without any cutoff date.”

Chakroborty highlights, when there is no permanent ‘refugee policy’ in India, such stunt of CAA cannot solve the real problems of the stateless Hindu refugees/migrants coming from Bangladesh or elsewhere.

According to Chakroborty, the victim of religious persecution in Bangladesh or Pakistan of Hindu root were actually the citizen of Akhand Bharatvarsha (undivided India) and they never wanted the partition of India anyway.  Their ancestors were obviously the citizen of Akhand Bharat and they are now put in a truce of CAA to prove their citizenship once again with a threat of cutoff date. “The Hindu refugees/migrants and Muslim infiltrators cannot be treated at per as Muslims already got their Pakistan and Bangladesh. Then what will be the real Motherland of Hindus in this subcontinent or from elsewhere?” Chakroborty added.

“We are not interested in CAA like stunt or fraud for the victim Hindus from Bangladesh. CAA is silent about the persecuted Hindus in the neighbouring countries after 31.12.2014. Would Govt of India assure no Hindu persecution in neighbouring countries after 31.12.2014 or after? Rather Government India help the 1.6 Crore persecuted Hindu-Buddhist-Chakma-Christian people who left the country or still struggling there to make a separate Homeland for them taking the apportioned land from Bangladesh,” Chakroborty said about the permanent solution in the contrast of CAA.

The hasty enactment of Citizenship (Amendment)  Act during the General Election 2024, without proper homework to get a political mileage, BJP did not make a justice to the Islamically persecuted and victimized minority Hindus from Bangladesh or Pakistan. To highlight Modi’s Guarantee, BJP leadership in Union Government tried to put a token work for CAA as an election stunt. With CAA, BJP wants to garner the Hindu votes with a charged Hindutva sentiment. But, this CAA will hardly help the persecuted Hindus and other minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan. Fallen in the CAA truce, many migrant Pakistani Hindus already returned to Pakistan even risking a high persecution there. It is hard to get any persecuted Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan as all of such minorities fled and sheltered in Canada. The uprooted Hindu and Chakma Buddhist people from Bangladesh are helpless to apply properly with the provisions of CAA.

Giving Citizenship under CAA to 14 Hindu persons from Pakistan, or starting procedural exercise for  the CAA applicants in WB from Matua community cannot be able to clear the could those are painted in the colour of BJP’s political gimmick and fabulous fraud with Hindus.

This CAA will be able to give solutions of only some hundreds of people in convenience but will deprive the lakhs of people in the queue as this is process to give alms in pennies after stealing the pounds.

Earlier, former CBI Director, M Negeswara Rao explained,  Citizenship (Amendment) Act : RSS-BJP is indulging in Goebbelsian propaganda fooling Hindus.

CAA should not be utilized to dupe the victim Hindus with a veil of false Hindutva propagation.

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__with inputs from ABP.