BJP pushes population register to pave way for discriminatory citizenship process
As a way to push for a more anti-minority citizenship process, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Ministry of Home Affairs stressed the need for updating the National Population Register (NPR) in its annual report on Monday.
The proposition has been protested by Indian minorities, who say that the data collected in the NPR will be weaponized against marginalized groups, particularly Muslims, who have already been threatened with mass statelessness by the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The report released by the Ministry also declared that the Indian government will provide citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Notably, Muslim migrants and refugees, including from Afghanistan and Myanmar, are excluded.
The BJP has made several attempts to strip Muslims of citizenship rights over the past few years, beginning in 2019 with the CAA. Muslims in Assam have also been systematically stripped of their citizenship, despite the fact that many families have been living in India for generations.
Halal trade fair canceled due to pressure from Hindu supremacist groups
The “International Halal Show”, an event to showcase various Halal products in Mumbai, has been canceled after Hindu supremacist groups harassed the organizers with protests and demands to shut the show down.
Hindu supremacist groups harassed the organizers over social media with a campaign to shut the event down, calling the trading of halal products “economic jihad” as a way to fuel anti-Muslim hysteria and bigotry.
“We decided to call off the event after we received inputs that some organizations were opposing the halal show. The decision was in the interest of law and order and we do not want to disrupt peace and harmony,” said Yusuf Abrahni, president of the organization behind the event.
Hindu supremacists across India have begun taking issue with halal products and labels, calling for boycotts of halal brands and claiming that such brands are “anti-Hindu.”
Hindu supremacists file complaint against comedian, demand cancellation of his show
Continuing the rising trend of silencing critics of Hindu nationalism and Prime Minister Modi, the Hindu supremacist organization Hindu Janjagruti Samiti filed a complaint against comedian Vir Das, demanding cancellation of his upcoming comedy show in Karnataka state.
The complaint falsely claimed that the stand-up comedian’s show “hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus and shows India in a bad light to the world.”
“Earlier, Das had made derogatory statements against women, our Prime Minister, and India at the John F. Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C., and denigrated the country,” said Mohan Gowda, the spokesperson of the extremist group.
Das had pointed out the increasing cases of rape and sexual assault against women in India.
Comedians, actors, journalists, and other individuals have faced increasing threats of vigilante violence from Hindu supremacist groups, who police free speech in India. Earlier this year, popular Indian comedian Munawar Faruqui announced his retirement from comedy after threats of violence from Hindu extremists forced cancellations of a dozen shows in just two months.
