KARACHI: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged India to protect refugees irrespective of their religion and ensure its citizenship laws are “nondiscriminatory”.

In a statement released on Friday, the global human rights body said India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has started the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was enacted in 2019.

“The law fast-tracks citizenship requests from non-Muslims fleeing religious persecution from India’s Muslim-majority neighbours — Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh — but excludes Muslim refugees from those countries,” HRW said.

The global rights body said Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has already explained his government’s “broader plans” for a proposed nationwide citizenship verification process, called the National Register of Citizens.

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HRW urged India to demonstrate that it is “genuinely committed” to helping all asylum seekers.

“It should ratify the Refugee Convention, establish nondiscriminatory refugee law and asylum procedures, and establish a path to citizenship for all recognised refugees without regard to their religion.”

The statement recalled widespread concerns surrounding the CAA, which led to massive protests when the law was passed.

There were fears that the law “could be used to disenfranchise Indian Muslims and strip them of their citizenship rights”.

The statement said the concerns were genuine as millions have been rendered stateless in Assam state following the screening process.

Indian authorities have deployed a large number of security personnel in Delhi and Assam over fears of more protests as it proceeds to enact rules for CAA, it added.

The statement recalled that five years ago, the police used “excessive force to crush protests”, and communal clashes killed 53 people in New Delhi, most of them Muslim.

“The Supreme Court has yet to hear petitions challenging the amendments for religious bias and for violating fundamental rights.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the law, calling it a “breach of India’s international human rights obligations”, HRW stated, adding that leaders from India’s opposition parties have also criticised the government for enforcing the law “that fosters religious discrimination”.

HRW added that over the years, India has protected those fleeing persecution.

It added that those persecuted often belong to minority religious communities or ethnic groups, but the majority can also face persecution, such as Afghans who are fleeing the Taliban.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2024