Kolkata
Embarrassment for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Citizenship Amendment Act continues, as a student of Jadavpur University tore apart a page of a copy of CAA while receiving her degree at the convocation ceremony.
A student of the arts department named Debosmita Choudhury, said, she chose to “dump” the CAA document at the podium where the vice-chancellor, Pro-VC and registrar were seated, as it made bonafide citizens prove their nationality.
She termed the act as the gesture of protest against the contentious law. “Let there be no confusion. I am not showing any disrespect to JU. I am proud to be awarded this degree at my favourite institution. But, I chose this podium to register my protest against CAA… my friends are on a sit-in near the gate of the convocation venue,” the university student said.
At least 27 people have been killed and thousands have been arrested amid demonstrations in India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a new law that allows immigrants of religious minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to seek Indian citizenship while excluding Muslims from that prerogative. Passed in early December, the new law has put India’s 200 million Muslims on high alert and joins a growing list of controversies spurred by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, which is accused of pushing a Hindu-nationalist agenda.
Critics say that the CAA undermines India’s secular 1949 Constitution which ensures equality for all religions, Kashmir Media service reported. Mass demonstrations have engulfed both large and small cities nationwide, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, and Malegaon. Authorities have responded with a brutal crackdown, as well as restrictions on street protests and internet shutdowns. In August 2019, the BJP-led parliament abrogated the autonomy status of Muslim-majority state Jammu and Kashmir, which has since been subjected to curfews, restrictions on public transportation, and a near-total blackout.—INP
