Six Rumours about CAA and NRC that you almost believed

Ever since the CAB was tabled in the Lok Sabha, the opposition parties and the entire leftist ecosystem has gone into an overdrive creating and spreading some of the most absurd myths and rumours about the CAA. The aim of all such myths and rumours is to create a sense of fear and panic among the Muslim community and to provoke anti-social, violent elements within the society. The left-liberal fake news factory has systematically created several myths and rumours ever since the CAB was passed by the Parliament.

1. Indian Muslims will NOT be asked to show their documents

The Indian Muslims are being told a blatant lie that the Modi government is going to disenfranchise all Muslims living in India. They are being told that they will now be required to show papers proving their citizenship, despite Union Home Minister, Amit Shah making it clear in both houses of Parliament and even outside the Parliament that the CAA does not take away anyone’s citizenship. The citizenship only creates a special right in favour of the persecuted minorities living in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Amendment legislation does not take away anyone’s citizenship, or anyone’s right to apply for citizenship in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Moreover, if and when, a nation-wide NRC is implemented, it will only be an exercise to create a register of all Indian citizens. It is not going to cause any prejudice to any community, contrary to the myths that are being created. In the case of Assam NRC, members of every community were required to present documents which would then be matched with the government’s legacy data.

2. CAA is unconstitutional? We’ll let the Supreme Court decide. And also, No.

Another bizarre myth that is being created is that the CAA is unconstitutional. The Lutyens’ elites have suddenly become legal experts, and have started claiming that the Amendment legislation is hit by Article 14. Their interpretation and understanding of Article 14 is based on a bare reading of the plain provision and elementary understanding of legal principles and Article 14. They haven’t cared to pay heed to the doctrine of Reasonable Classification which has been consistently upheld in a plethora of apex court rulings. 

This doctrine allows the State to create as many classes as it wants through a legislation as long as there is an intelligible differentia and the differentia has a reasonable and proximate nexus with the object of the legislation. In fact, the jurisprudential essence of Article 14 is not absolute equality, rather it only envisages equal treatment of equals and stands violated at equal treatment of unequals.

In the context of CAA, there is a clear intelligible differentia between two classes- persecuted minorities in the three Islamic States and the oppressive majority. There is also a reasonable nexus between the object of the Act, that is, a simpler process of citizenship for grant of citizenship to the persecuted minorities, and the intelligible differentia between the two classes recognised by the Amendment legislation. Differentiation between the persecuted and the oppressors is therefore not barred by Article 14. This is clearly too difficult to comprehend for those opposing the CAA. Notwithstanding their dissent, CAA is perfectly valid and constitutional. Otherwise, by the argument of those in opposition to CAA, reservations for SCs and STs are just as unconstitutional.

3. CAA is not akin to Nazi Germany’s Nuremberg laws

In order to create a strong opinion against the CAA, the left-liberal ecosystem has also been making passionate comparisons between Nazi Germany and the CAA. TMC MP in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien also drew this comparison. The Nazi ideology was based on racism and prejudice against a particular community. The CAA is a benevolent legislation that seeks to protect those persecuted in three Islamic States. The Nuremberg Laws forbade ‘mixing’ between ‘German blood’ and the Jews, and the Reich citizenship was to be extended only to those of German blood disenfranchising all the Jews forcing them to emigrate. No Indian Muslim or any other community stands to face any such law.  This myth is probably the most baseless of all and is simply devoid of logic. While other myths are parts of a sinister conspiracy, this myth is rather illogical and senseless, but nonetheless, it has managed to excite some of poorly read left-liberal youth.

4. No, Delhi Police did not set fire to buses and the ‘men in plain clothes’ were not ‘RSS’

It started with AAP’s Manish Sisodia and Atishi Marlena who attempted to implicate the police in the torching buses done by rioters that consisted a mix of students and outsiders in Jamia Nagar. Those spreading rumours about, and inciting violence in the name of opposing CAA, have also realised that merely spreading rumours against the CAA is not going to pay them dividends for very long. Therefore, they have now started relying on fake news. And their primary target has been the Delhi Police. They have been continuously playing down violence bordering on virtual terrorism.

Men in plain clothes, donning riot gear, were indeed policemen and not men of the RSS or ABVP acting in  cahoots with the police. This is one of the most shameful rumours, but the left-liberal youth bordering on lunacy are not the most fact friendly lot in town.

5. Pained by police brutality? Be careful not to look ridiculous before you demonize the Police

As far as Indian law is concerned, being a ‘student’ does not win anyone any immunity. Pelting rocks, hurling molotov cocktails at the police and damaging public property is never not followed by police action in any country in the world. The fear-mongers have been frequently making fake and outlandish allegations of police brutality, whereas in reality it is rather the police that has borne the brunt of hooligans both during Jamia violence and Seelampur violence.

During the Seelampur incident, a dozen police personnel and three RAF personnel were injured in what seems like a planner manner by the rioters. The violent mobs outnumbered the Delhi Police personnel. Despite violence and provocations, Delhi Police remained thoroughly professional and resorted to public announcements from Mosques and madrassas in order to calm tempers. It also took help of the aman (peace) committees to ensure that the charged up atmosphere was cooled down. Even during the Jamia incident, the Delhi Police had made passionate appeals for maintaining law and order, and not to hurl stones and other objects at the police personnel, but the “student activists” remained adamant and replied with abuses.

6. Ethnic Cleansing in the Northeast? 

The Northeast has also been a major target of the fake news factory. It is being widely rumoured that the Northeast, including Assam, will get flooded with Bengali Hindus. However, the cutoff date is December 31, 2014, and those refugees who entered India after that date shall not be extended citizenship.

It is also being rumoured that the sixth schedule areas and the areas regulated under the ILP will be covered by the Citizenship Amendment legislation. However, the reality is that ILP regulated areas and Schedule VI areas have been specifically excluded from the ambit of the Act. The tribal areas of the Northeast are not going to get affected. Moreover, Assamese culture is not going to be under any kind of threat whatsoever because the CAA is not going to confer automatic citizenship, rather those covered by the Amendment legislation will have to apply for citizenship and they will be conferred citizenship only after scrutiny of their applications and fulfilment of the specified criteria.

It is clear that the CAA is not going to affect any Indian citizen and only going to extend citizenship to the persecuted minorities in neighbouring states which have Islam as their state religion. Vested interests seem to be creating rumours and myths only in order to incite violence by systematically brainwashing the Muslims and the North-eastern states about the provisions of the CAA.