[The NRC, reinforced with the CAA, is evidently meant to strip a huge number of Indian citizens of their citizenship, which, till now, was a given, like light and air. The CAA has demonstratively singled out the Indian Muslims as the intended target. It's quite another matter that others would also be grievously affected.
That's how the fire has been lit. Here's a revealing cartoon: < https://scontent.fbom19-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/79421897_10221368848835851_5583657192189329408_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ohc=L_zqavQBKq8AQnrFJiOW2nGlqY6LNaj2vS2irMX3j_CJIsLp0an5X-yjw&_nc_ht=scontent.fbom19-1.fna&oh=b04c1cbb3802c0806846d9f883e1091c&oe=5EB06748 >. Sl. no. III. and IV. below show up how even the habitual drum-beaters have started flagging concerns. West Bengal has stayed the work on NPR. In a number of cities, opposition parties and civil society organisations have joined hands to protest. A national solidarity, cutting across religious divides, to resist and scuttle this fiendish move is the only option left.] I/V. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/list-of-campaigners-against-citizenship-act-grows-iim-iits-aiims-iisc/cid/1727751 List grows: IIM, IITs, AIIMS, IISc… On the north campus of Delhi University, a protester said a group supporting the ABVP beat up the agitating students By Basant Kumar Mohanty in New Delhi Published 17.12.19, 2:39 AMUpdated 17.12.19, 2:39 AM a min read Indians hold placards during a protest against the citizenship law in Mumbai on Monday. Indians hold placards during a protest against the citizenship law in Mumbai on Monday. (AP) Students of several prestigious institutions have joined the campaign against the amended citizenship law and the attacks on students. Holding placards and posters, students took out processions and candlelight marches and sat on dharna at IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad Central University, Delhi University, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Pondicherry University and IIM Bangalore. The student’s association of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) issued a statement to condemn the “violent brutal” attack on students and urged the elected leaders to be accountable to constitutional values. “It is disheartening to see the ruling party, which boasts of protesting against the might of the 1975 national emergency, has resorted to brutal state-sponsored police repression against students, not even sparing hostels and libraries. It is time we held our elected leaders responsible to the values enshrined in the Constitution,” said the statement. On the north campus of Delhi University, a protester said a group supporting the ABVP, the student wing of the RSS, beat up the agitating students. “Police remained a mute spectator when ABVP members were attacking the students. They came in large numbers with lathis and attacked us,” said Dipsita Dhar, a student and the all-India joint secretary of the CPM-backed Students Federation of India. She said the SFI held protests on the campuses of the Hyderabad Central University, Pondicherry University, TISS Hyderabad, the Babasaheb Bhimrao University in Aurangabad and several colleges in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu. In IISc Bangalore, students held a protest holding placards to reject the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the recent amendment to the citizenship law, a research student said. II/V. http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/171219/women-take-lead-against-cops-excesses-at-jamia-says-its-now-or-never-situation.html Women take lead against cops 'excesses' at Jamia, says 'its now or never situation' PTIPublished : Dec 17, 2019, 8:21 am ISTUpdated : Dec 17, 2019, 8:21 am IST A few women, in their 60s, almost limped to the protest site in Delhi, while some accompanied their family members and classmates. A group of another 50 women, including students and their family members, demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah resign in the wake of alleged police atrocities. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Women from all age groups, including grandmothers and sisters of Jamia Millia Islamia students, took the lead in the protest on Monday against the alleged police excesses and the amended Citizenship Act, vowing to continue the fight for justice till their "last breath". A few women, in their 60s, almost limped to the protest site in Delhi, while some accompanied their family members and classmates. Ayesha Renna and Ladeeda Farzana, who have become the face of the Jamia protest after a video showing them standing up to the baton-wielding police personnel went viral, told reporters that the protest was a "fight to protect our existence" and that they fear no one but God. "CAA and NRC are a direct attack on Muslims. Today, it's us. Tomorrow, it will be the entire country," the two women from Kerala said. Renna, an MA History student, and Farzana, an Arabic student, were seen in a video protecting a colleague from the police as the Jamia Millia Islamia had turned into a battlefield on Sunday, with police entering the campus and using force following violent protests against the controversial Citizenship Act. Aamna Asif, 21, a student of Economic Honours, said she was supposed to leave for home in the winter break, but now, she would not. "Back home in Lucknow, my father is really worried, but my mother told me to keep the will to die and that we are all fighting for a cause," Asif said. "I will stay put here till we win this battle." "They hounded us in our bathrooms, libraries and mosques," the student said as narrated the ordeal. "When policemen entered the library, some women rushed to its first and second floor, switched the lights and hid behind the furniture and in the corners," Asif said. "The policemen pulled them out from there too. This is how we are protecting our daughters." A group of another 50 women, including students and their family members, demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah resign in the wake of alleged police atrocities. Nadia Khan, an alumna of the university, said each drop of our blood was for Jamia. "I appeal to all my sisters who studied in Jamia or are currently part of it, please come out and fight for Jamia," she said. The protesting women also included grandmothers, mothers and sisters of Jamia students. Shaheen Kausar, 52, who led the group of women to the protest site, said students were "dragged, pushed, kicked and caned". "It is not only about my children. This is about all those who have come here leaving their families behind," Kausar said. "These students have come from all corners of our country. All are our children." "Women proved their strength in every era. We will do that again. Won't leave the streets till the amendments in the citizenship act are withdrawn," Kausar said. A woman student, who did not wish to be identified, said her name is not important, but her my voice is, adding that they are not going to back out. "Our sisters and brothers were pulled by their hair and dragged on streets. Their clothes were torn and they were left for the dead," she alleged. "This is not Palestine. We won't give up until Amit Shah resigns." The women held up bangles and asked Delhi Police to wear them. Two sisters -- Ameena Nomgbri (39), a housewife, and Naseem Nomgbri (35) from Shillong -- said they could not stop themselves from coming out on the streets. "The Northeast is burning and flames have reached Delhi. The CAA has to go or the country will break into pieces," Ameena Nomgbri said. "Have never witnessed such vicious political atmosphere. Students, teachers, common people -- everyone's being targeted," Naseem Nomgbri said. "We need to fight to keep the country together. This is now or never." III/V. https://twitter.com/chetan_bhagat/status/1206447254564827136?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet Chetan Bhagat @chetan_bhagat Those who fantasize about India with a Hindu king and his subservient subjects, remember this. Even if I dignified your bigotry (I don’t), you can't wish 200mn Muslims away. Try that and India will burn,GDP will crash and your kids will be unsafe and jobless.Stop these fantasies! 11:03 AM · Dec 16, 2019 IV/V. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/diplomatic-setback-citizenship-amendment-act-is-jeopardising-indias-foreign-policy-objectives/?fbclid=IwAR3ftjdrDdC9B5ZjDSO3_LplWkjQ40h6e-H_-Rwv787XTIys_qjxTuEh-UA Diplomatic setback: Citizenship Amendment Act is jeopardising India’s foreign policy objectives December 16, 2019, 2:02 AM IST TOI Edit in TOI Editorials | Edit Page, India | TOI With a tense situation prevailing in north-east states – particularly in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura – due to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), it appears the Centre miscalculated the intensity of the blowback. North-east states have long been sensitive about migration to their region and fear that the new legislation will endanger their cultural and linguistic identities. Elsewhere as in Bengal where protests have turned violent, CAA is being criticised for unconstitutionally equating citizenship with religion and discriminating against Muslims. But another unintended consequence of CAA has been on the diplomatic front. Two Bangladeshi ministers cancelled their India visit after CAA was passed in Parliament. Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe postponed his India trip for an annual bilateral summit with PM Narendra Modi after hosting the meet in Guwahati became virtually impossible due to the protests. This is a big blow for India’s ‘Act East’ policy. Simultaneously, the UN human rights office issued a statement that CAA was fundamentally discriminatory and inconsistent with India’s international obligations on human rights. If this weren’t enough two US panels – Commission on International Religious Freedom and the House Foreign Affairs Committee – have criticised CAA for undermining the basic tenets of democracy. This is bad for India’s foreign policy objectives and image abroad. One of the things for which the Modi government rightly deserves credit is strengthening India’s foreign policy heft and outreach. Over the last six years, India has been recognised as a rising power and has cemented its place on important international platforms. In fact, the US and other Western powers had come to see India as an important democratic partner in hedging against China’s aggressive power projection in Asia, the most important factor constraining India’s rise. But all of that risks coming undone with New Delhi’s recent moves such as CAA, nationwide NRC or overly tough restrictions in Kashmir. It will be a real tragedy if foreign governments as well as foreign investors think twice before pegging India as a stable and functional democracy and instead re-hyphenate it with Pakistan. Against this backdrop, government needs to ask itself if pushing CAA is worth it. Internally, if the Modi government wants to bring about a strong and united India, CAA is defeating the purpose. It should be rolled back. There is no harm in admitting a mistake. Or if that proves too difficult, perhaps a ten-year moratorium can be declared, while more consensus is generated around it. V. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/amid-protests-over-citizenship-law-west-bengal-stays-work-on-npr-1628828-2019-12-16?fbclid=IwAR3laq3OHS4djuoUgn4bJU27KFdusTkecKiRG3CI-Cyr5tF8yxMie2RYSKA Amid protests over citizenship law, West Bengal stays work on NPR An order issued by the Home and Hill Affair Department Census Cell to commissioners of Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations and all district magistrates said that all activities regarding the preparation and update of NPR are stayed. Press Trust of India Kolkata December 16, 2019 UPDATED: December 16, 2019 23:37 IST Chief minister Mamata Banerjee leads a rally against NRC and CAA in West Bengal on Monday. (PTI) The West Bengal government on Monday stayed all activities relating to the preparation and update of the National Population Register (NPR) in the state, amid furore over a contentious amendment made to the citizenship law. An order issued by the Home and Hill Affair Department Census Cell to commissioners of Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporations and all district magistrates said that all activities regarding the preparation and update of NPR are stayed. "No activity regarding NPR may be taken up without prior clearance from the government of West Bengal. The order is issued in the interest of public order," it said. The decision comes amid violent protests in parts of Bengal over the amended Citizenship Act and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making it clear the law and the proposed NRC will not be implemented in the state. It drew sharp reactions from the BJP. "The NPR was done for the purpose of census, under the National Census Act. What the state government is doing is unconstitutional. It is because the TMC government is now nervous as census might bring out the truth about changing demography in the state and is only worried about her minority votebank," BJP state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said. The TMC is destroying Bengal and future generations will suffer because of this, he said. The Trinamool Congress leadership, however, said the state government decision is temporary in the wake of protests against the new citizenship law across the country. "It is because the Citizenship Act has generated a panic among citizens. So it has been decided any work regarding NPR might further aggravate the situation," a senior TMC leader said. The CPI(M) leadership welcomed the stay on NPR but said it has exposed the TMC government's double standard on NRC. "TMC has been opposing NRC but they had started the work for NPR, which is a precursor to pan-India NRC. Earlier the state government had denied starting the NPR process in the state. But today that lie stands exposed," senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said. The central government has decided to prepare NPR by Sep 2020 to lay the foundation for rolling out a citizens' register across the country. The NPR will be a list of usual residents of the country. Once the NPR is completed and published, it is expected to be the basis for preparing the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), a pan-India version of Assam's National Register of Citizens, according to an official. For the purpose of NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months or more. The NPR exercise will be conducted in conjunction with the house-listing phase, the first phase for Census 2021. The NPR exercise is conducted at the local, sub-district, district, state and national levels. The RGI has already begun a pilot project in over 1,200 villages and 40 towns and cities through 5,218 enumeration blocks, where it is collecting various data from people. The final enumeration will begin in April 2020 and end in September 2020. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZhBotZ6tdddbbouPKtoNV2115KgFZv331SFS%2BvFxKN1NA%40mail.gmail.com.
