US expresses concern over religious freedom in India, cites citizenship law

The remarks came in the wake of widespread protests held across India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The US has expressed concern over the current situation of religious freedom in India and raised the issue with Indian officials, a senior State Department official has said.

The remarks came in the wake of widespread protests held across India against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The senior State Department official, on condition of anonymity, said that he has met with officials in India about what is taking place in the nation and expressed concern.

"We are concerned about what's taking place in India. I have met with the Indian foreign minister. I've met with the Indian ambassador (to express my concern)," the official, who was recently in India, told reporters on Wednesday.

The US has also "expressed desire first to try to help and work through some of these issues", the official said as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance.

"To me, the initial step we try to do in most places is say what can we do to be of help you work through an issue to where there's not religious persecution. That's the first step, is just saying can we work with you on this," the official said.

India maintains that the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities.

It is widely acknowledged that India is a vibrant democracy where the Constitution provides protection of religious freedom, and where democratic governance and rule of law further promote and protect fundamental rights, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs has said.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution there will get Indian citizenship.

Maharashtra bandh' over CAA, NRC: Security tightened; transport unaffected

Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting and attempt to disrupt road traffic in Mumbai, there was not much impact of the bandh in the metropolis.

The 'Maharashtra bandh' called by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar's party on Friday to oppose the new citizenship law saw heavy police deployment across the state with public transport and normal life remaining largely unaffected.

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has called for the statewide shutdown to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting and attempt to disrupt road traffic in Mumbai, there was not much impact of the bandh in the metropolis.

While a BEST (BMC's transport body) bus was stoned by unidentified persons near Swastik Park in suburban Chembur, VBA supporters gathered in large numbers at Teen Haath Naka in Thane to protest against the CAA, an official said.

Several VBA activists were detained by the police, when they tried to stop vehicles on Eastern Express Highway at Ghatkopar, he said.

Partial impact of the bandh was seen in pockets like Kurla, Sion-Trombay Road, Byculla, Dadar, Wadala and Andheri, the official added.

The Prakash Ambedkar-led party has claimed the support of over 50 political and social organisations apart from labour unions for the 'bandh'.

Ambedkar noted that several NGOs and citizen groups had demonstrated against the CAA and the NRC, but no political party had done so till now.

"That's why we are staging protest over the CAA and the NRC. In addition to this, the economy is in a bad shape and people's attention is being diverted. We will flag these issues," Ambedkar said.

In view of the 'bandh', the police tightened securityacross the state to maintain law and order, the official said.

CAA, Article 370 factors behind India's slide democracy index: Shiv Sena

Sena said a slowdown in economy gives rise to unrest and instability, and this was getting reflected in the prevailing situation in the country.

Politics News : The Shiv Sena on Friday said there have been attempts to muzzle dissenting voices and this is one of the reasons for India slipping in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking.

An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece "Saamana" said a slowdown in economy gives rise to unrest and instability, and this was getting reflected in the prevailing situation in the country.

"Now (after an economic slowdown) there is a slide in (India's) global democracy index ranking," the Marathi daily said.

India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index's global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which cited "erosion of civil liberties" in the country as the primary cause for the downtrend. The EIU report was released earlier this week.

Citing issues like scrapping of Article 370, that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, new citizenship law CAA and the proposed NRC, measures which have witnessed protests, the paper said the country had witnessed a churning in the last one year.

"There have been protests and attempts to muzzle dissenting voices. Those who showed sympathy with JNU students (attacked by goons) were put in the dock and were made to look like an accused.

"This is the reason India slipped to 51st position in the Democracy Index, the editorial said and wondered if the ruling party at the Centre and its supporters accept the current situation.

"Even if the government rejects the (EIU) report, does the ruling party have an answer as to why the country was witnessing a slide, from economic field to democracy (ranking)?" the Sena, a former ally of the BJP, asked.

The Sena publication said if the government thinks the country was doing well (on economic front), "why is it asking the RBI for money"? apparently referring to the Centre's decision last year to seek Rs 1.76 lakh crore from reserves of the apex bank.

It is good to have a goal of making India a five trillion dollar economy (by 2024), but the GDP is not likely to grow by even 5 per cent in the current fiscal year, the party said.

India braces for more protests as anger grows against new citizenship law

Political leaders in Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal all said publicly they will not implement the law, setting up a potential conflict with the federal government in New Delhi.

BS : Tensions remain high across India Monday after five days of protests against a contentious new religion-based citizenship law turned violent in New Delhi, with police using tear gas to disperse crowds.

Anger against the law has fueled protests across the country, from Assam, about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) to the east of Delhi, to demonstrations in Bengaluru and Mumbai. The agitation in Assam prompted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was scheduled to visit the state, the delay a three-day trip that was set to begin on Sunday.

The United Nations has described the law is “fundamentally discriminatory.”

Authorities shut down internet access in some districts in Assam -- which borders Bangladesh -- and in West Bengal as protesters defied police to take to the streets against the Citizenship Amendment Law. Passed Wednesday, it bars undocumented Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan from seeking citizenship but allows undocumented Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from these regions to do so.

Home Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the bill the parliament last week, called for calm on Sunday, saying cultures in northeastern states were not under threat.

ALSO READ: Citizenship law: Global criticism builds against Modi regime

Still, political leaders in Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal all said publicly they will not implement the law, setting up a potential conflict with the federal government in New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has vowed to implement a citizenship drive nationwide to weed out undocumented migrants.

Assam was the first state to implement the register. The arduous process that ended in August 2019 has put about 1.9 million people at risk of becoming stateless. The new citizenship law has further raised concerns about the whittling away of values laid out in the secular constitution of the world’s second-most populous nation.

As protests raged in Delhi late on Sunday, student leaders and demonstrators were calling for police restraint and for the new law -- which they say goes against India’s secular constitution -- to be overturned.