6 min readMar 13, 2024 05:57 PM IST
First published on: Mar 12, 2024 at 04:34 PM IST
In his letter of resignation, recalling one of the many state-sponsored atrocities on the Scheduled Castes in East Pakistan, Jogendra Nath Mandal, one of the key architects of Pakistan, who served as its first Minister of Law and Labour, observed, “The armed police came and the local Muslims also joined them. They not only raided some houses of the Namasudras but mercilessly beat both men and women, destroyed their properties and took away valuables. The merciless beating of a pregnant woman resulted in abortion on the spot. This brutal action on the part of the local authority created panic over a large area.” Subsequent massacres of Dalits in Marichjhapi, Sundarbans, in 1979, and in Sandeshkhali in 2024 are an indication of the systemic rot against socially vulnerable communities in this region. One of the alleged culprits in Sandeshkhali, Shahjahan Sheikh, is also accused of unleashing violence on women from the SC/ST communities under the patronage of the ruling party in the state. Therefore, the politics of Dalit-Muslim unity often ignited by stakeholders for the pursuit of power has no historical resonance. There must be an academic interrogation of the treatment of Dalits and other marginalised sections in the Indian Subcontinent.
The Ministry of Home Affairs’ decision to notify the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 must be viewed from a historical perspective. In 1947, when India was partitioned, the Hindu population in Pakistan was about 24 per cent. Today, it is not even 1 per cent. In 1947, the Hindu population in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was 30 per cent. Today, it is about 7 per cent. Where did they disappear? It is appalling to notice the complete absence of any human-rights discourse (international and domestic) around the persecuted minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As per a report by the Hindu American Foundation, “Abduction and forced conversion of Hindu girls is rampant (Approx 1,000 Hindu and Christian girls in Pakistan are abducted and converted to Islam annually. Between 2004-18, there were 7,430 reported cases of kidnappings of Hindu girls in the Sindh province alone, while the actual number of cases is much higher.”
Dalits and tribal communities have finally become a factor in the domestic political narrative for the right reasons but the canvas of politics around them needs a much broader discussion. The CAA rules are intended to provide refuge to the thousands of people who have become stateless over the decades and have moved from across the border, predominantly owing to Islamic fundamentalism and sectarian violence. In a report by a leading Indian newspaper, it was found that “of the 5,764 eligible families that have applied for citizenship, 70 per cent of them are Dalits”. It is a matter of great shock to see the Congress party and its senior leadership opposing a law that is a step in the direction of the fulfilment of our constitutional obligation. Noted thinker on Dalit issues and senior advocate Nitin Meshram welcomed the decision on X: “People from Bengal who elected Babasaheb Ambedkar and sent him to the Constituent Assembly to uplift the marginalised sections will finally get the Indian citizenship after waiting for almost 75 years. Nothing can be better news than this for the Bahujan community in India.”
There are similar examples from Western democracies like the US and the UK where preferential treatment for citizenship was extended to persecuted minorities. US Senator Frank Lautenberg in 1989-90 led a similar campaign for persecuted minorities in the Soviet Union and Iran. Under this amendment, persons from minority communities such as Christians, Bahais and Jewish people from Iran were given refuge and citizenship eventually, primarily on the ground of being persecuted. The Nationality and Borders Act of the United Kingdom also offered nationality, asylum, and immigration, including to victims of slavery and human trafficking. Where will the Hindus suffering from institutional oppression go for protection? India is a natural home to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and people following multiple other faiths.
The age of suspended disbelief for the Opposition parties is sadly continuing on this affirmative legislation. As a student of law and a researcher, I have yet to find a provision in this Act that disallows a person from the Muslim community to apply for citizenship. On the contrary, anyone who has come to India after the cut-off date in December 2014, regardless of their faith, will be treated at par. Rahul Gandhi will ask mediapersons about their caste in an open press conference but will not be mindful of the caste of the people belonging to persecuted minorities in Pakistan. This is opposition for the sake of opposition. Lalu Prasad and Akhilesh Yadav will speak about backward communities but will rarely go beyond the political interest of their families. Women from the Matua (Dalit) community in Bengal were seen celebrating after the notification of the rules by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
This Act undoes decades of injustice on Dalits from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nothing can be a more fitting tribute to Savitribai Phule, B R Ambedkar and Jogendra Nath Mandal than to pave the way for a genuine ghar wapsi of people. It is an emotional moment for the millions of Dalits not only from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh but also across India who are cherishing the return of their people after an endless wait.
The writer is assistant professor at Patna University and adviser to the Dalit Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
Members of Students' Federation of India (SFI) stage a protest, a day after the central government notified the rules for implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, at Madras University, in Chennai. (PTI Photo) 
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