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Indian Americans protest India's citizenship law. |
ASAM NEWS
Hundreds of Indian Americans protested the recent deaths of 46 protestors in Delhi, reports Indica News.
They rallied Friday in front of Indian consulates across the United States in support of demonstrators in India outraged at new policies which makes faith a basis for granting citizenship and backed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Almost 4-dozen people opposed to the so called Citizenship Amendment Act were killed and more than 200 injured during demonstrations on February 23 in Delhi.
“I was there to have an opportunity to grieve with a community that understands how egregious the genocidal violence that occurred in Delhi was, and to be in a space that recognizes what this moment means in modern Indian history. ” Sana Qutubuddin, an activist with Alliance for Justice and Accountability, told Al Jazeera.
Among the groups protesting were Alliance for South Asians Taking Action, Chicago Against Hindu Fascism and Bay Area Against Hindu Fascism.
“These events are horrifying. And disturbingly, they are not entirely unexpected. They come after a series of exclusionary and unjust actions targeting religious and caste minorities and vulnerable populations, particularly since the re-election of Modi,” South Asian Americans Leading Together said in a statement sent to AsAm News.
“The Modi government is implementing a Hindu nationalist agenda, known as Hindutva, or right wing Hindu nationalism, which is rooted in the alarming notion that Hindus are racially and culturally superior to others. Similar to White supremacy, which South Asians (including Hindus) in the United States contend regularly with, Hindutva threatens the rights, bodies, freedoms, and livelihoods of non-Hindus in India,” the group said.
“I was there to have an opportunity to grieve with a community that understands how egregious the genocidal violence that occurred in Delhi was, and to be in a space that recognizes what this moment means in modern Indian history. ” Sana Qutubuddin, an activist with Alliance for Justice and Accountability, told Al Jazeera.
Among the groups protesting were Alliance for South Asians Taking Action, Chicago Against Hindu Fascism and Bay Area Against Hindu Fascism.
“These events are horrifying. And disturbingly, they are not entirely unexpected. They come after a series of exclusionary and unjust actions targeting religious and caste minorities and vulnerable populations, particularly since the re-election of Modi,” South Asian Americans Leading Together said in a statement sent to AsAm News.
“The Modi government is implementing a Hindu nationalist agenda, known as Hindutva, or right wing Hindu nationalism, which is rooted in the alarming notion that Hindus are racially and culturally superior to others. Similar to White supremacy, which South Asians (including Hindus) in the United States contend regularly with, Hindutva threatens the rights, bodies, freedoms, and livelihoods of non-Hindus in India,” the group said.
The division among Indians have been more visible and increasingly violent since Indian lawmakers passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill last December. The Citizenship Amendment Bill would give many citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh the opportunity to apply for Indian citizenship based on their beliefs alone. But the Bill stipulates they must be Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Parsi or Buddhist; Muslims are not listed.
The controversy has spilled over into the Indian American community dividing the South Asians along religious lines.
Duriing his trip to South Asia last week, Donald Trump, failed to mention the controversial bill saying he did not want to interfere in a domestic manner. Trump's administration has instituted a policy banning travel from several countries with a Muslim-dominated population.
Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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