Recently, questions were raised by America on the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act in India.
India expressed strong objection to this and mirrored America by saying that we do not need lectures from people who do not know the history of partition.
Even after this, questions are being raised on this in America. Now an American MP Ben Cardin has raised questions on this, which is a stinging matter for India.
Ben Cardin said that as America-India relations are deepening.
It is important that cooperation is based on shared values of protecting human rights for all, regardless of religion. Ben Cardin belongs to the same Democratic Party to which President Joe Biden is associated.
The Government of India had implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 last week. This paves the way for non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to get Indian citizenship who do not have documents and had come to India before December 31, 2014.
Along with this, the Indian government has also made it clear that Indian Muslims do not need to be worried because CAA does not affect their citizenship and the community has nothing to do with it, they have the same rights as Hindus.
Senator Ben Cardin, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, ‘I am concerned by the decision of the Government of India to notify the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. I am particularly concerned about the potential impact of this law on the Muslim community.
What makes matters worse is that it is being implemented during the holy month of Ramzan. He said, ‘As US-India relations deepen, it is vitally important that our cooperation be based on our shared values of protecting the human rights of all persons regardless of religion.’
Last week, the US State Department had also expressed concern over notifying the CAA and said that respect for religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic principles.
India had strongly reacted to the US State Department’s criticism of the CAA, saying it was ‘based on misinformation and unfair’.
In a separate statement, ‘Hindu Policy Research and Advocacy Collective (HinduPact)’ and ‘Global Hindu Heritage Foundation’ have supported the CAA.
Ajay Shah, founder and co-convenor of ‘Hindupact’ said, ‘CAA does not affect any citizen of India. It is baseless to call this law non-secular.
Hindu minorities are discriminated against in neighboring countries of India. “We are disappointed that instead of standing up for American values and the human rights of abused people, our government has decided to oppose this humanitarian effort,” he said.
This is a matter of concern for us as Americans.