(Image source from: thehindu.com)
Protests are being taking place across the country and the Indian diaspora regarding the Citizenship Amendment Bill that has been passed by the Modi government in India.
The Citizenship Amendment Act which was passed in 2019 seeks in providing Indian citizenship to the non-Muslim communities i.e., Hindus, Christians, Buddists, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains who are religious minorities from the three neighboring countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan who have been facing religious persecutions there and have come to India on or before December 31, 2014.
Violent protests have been conducted across India and the diaspora in the US tends to protest drawing parallel lines between Trump and Modi. The US based activists say that they have been fighting for the discrimination based on the religion.
The democracies across the US have been planning in late January and the National Day of action has been designated on Sunday. That day is said to witness protests, speeches being held against the Hindu nationalism and fascism, as said by the executive director of New York- based human rights start up Equality Labs, Thenmozhi Soundarajan, to NBC News.
Soundarajan said that she found it disturbing to see Trump and Modi share a stage last fall in Houston at an event which was titled as Howdy Modi.
Suchitra Vijayan, the director of the New York-based research and journalism nonprofit Polis Project said that a crowd of 50,000 were drawn at the event which not only served as the celebration for the Prime Minister but also amounted as a campaign event for Trump as well.
The second largest immigrant group in the US Is said to be Indian Americans where in more than half count them as citizens and two-thirds under the age of 18. The change is not usually felt in the US but on the Indian politicians who have been benefited for decades from the reputation of the group, preparation and income in the form of repatriation.
Soundarajan along with other activists are in the will to strap a energy of a diaspora in a opposite approach which will be done with protests in the cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington where in there exists vast Indian population.
The members of Congress are also taking part in open statements and protests. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-wash has said that the pronouncing on elemental beliefs of democracy shall be continued, as being an Indian American and also a member of Congress. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif noted that the legislations in the magnanimous democracy regarding the issues of competition and religion should be neutral.
As a part of the protests, the college students in the US has been provoked by the military assaults on the students in Indian Universities in a arise of CAA. The students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University were attacked as the military has forced their approach on the campuses on December 15 which lead to hundreds of students getting injured. A masked mob has attacked the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru university which lead to the students being harmed. The incident at the Jawaharlal nehru University has taken place on January 5.
Muskan Verma, a youth from the Bates college in Maine has said that, she along with her associate coordinators in a South Asian Against Fascism movement will be protesting on Sunday so as to let the people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act know that they are not alone and that the protests are being supported by the diaspora as well.
By Shrithika Kushangi
