India’s Citizenship Law Leading to Rise in Hate Crimes, Experts Warn

Protests in India over the Citizenship Amendment Act, a law Muslims claim discriminates against them, led to violent sectarian clashes in Delhi last week, killing dozens of Muslims and Hindus. Experts warn the controversial law, passed by India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in December 2019, is taking India to a point of no return

“The CAA has fostered both pro and anti-CAA protests, with the state and the ruling party offering a measure of support in favor of the former. The atmosphere in Delhi, which has seen sustained protests for weeks, has become exceptionally polarized on religious grounds,” Milan Vaishnav, an India expert at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told VOA.

Vaishnav said the Muslim population in India has felt increasingly marginalized over the years as the country’s political landscape was overrun by Hindutva, a hard-line Hindu ideology fostered by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).…

SEE ALSO

‘Hate Is Being Preached Openly Against Us.’ After Delhi Riots, Muslims in India Fear What’s Next – By Sameer Yasir and Billy Perrigo (Mar 3, 2020, Time)

https://time.com/5794354/delhi-riots-muslims-india/

Violence in Delhi was part of a familiar playbook – By Omkar Goswami (Mar 5, 2020, Indian Express)

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/delhi-northeast-violence-caa-protests-maujpur-6299567/

As the Gujarat Model Goes National, Hindutva Hunts for the ‘Enemy in Our Midst’ – By Jan Breman (Mar 5, 2020, The Wire)

https://thewire.in/communalism/as-the-gujarat-model-goes-national-hindutva-hunts-for-the-enemy-in-our-midst

In New Delhi, Days Of Deadly Violence And Riots – By Laurel Wamsley and Lauren Frayer (Feb 26, 2020, NPR)

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/26/809628525/in-new-delhi-days-of-deadly-violence-and-riots