South Asian Students, Faculty Condemn Indian Citizenship Bill And Anti-Muslim Violence
Students chalked Red Square on March 5 with messages denouncing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and anti-Muslim violence in India. Violent riots unfolded in Delhi, India’s second-largest city, from Feb. 23 to March 1 as Hindu mobs attacked Muslim-populated neighborhoods and set four mosques ablaze, leaving at least 53 people dead. The riots were triggered after attacks on sit-ins against the CAA, which was passed by the right-wing ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in December 2019.…
Anika Venkatesh (SFS’22), who grew up in Mumbai, argued that the two laws were crafted to disproportionately target Muslims. “Who is left over? Muslims. So who’s rendered stateless? Muslims,” she said.
Students from India broadly condemned the anti-Muslim violence in Delhi and expressed skepticism about the CAA and NRC. Venkatesh described the riots as a state-sanctioned pogrom against Muslims. “The police were very quick in consolidating under the government and going into Jamia University and shooting at students,” Venkatesh explained.
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West Bengal government put stay on NPR exercise (Mar 22, 2020, Muslim Mirror)
Jharkhand Assembly passes resolution against NRC, NPR (Mar 24, 2020, Scroll.in)
HC grants permission for anti-CAA meet after threat of COVID-19 subsides (Mar 19, 2020, The Hindu)
Persecution against Christians in India is growing (Mar 24, 2020, Christian Today)