Harish Salve, addressing critics of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), emphasized that the law’s objective isn’t to resolve issues within Islam. He clarified that the CAA aims to address the plight of persecuted minorities in neighboring Islamic countries.
NEW DELHI: On April 19th (Tuesday): Renowned lawyer Harish Salve emphasized that those criticizing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) don’t fully grasp its purpose or why India implemented it.
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The CAA facilitates Indian citizenship for minorities from three neighboring Islamic nations who fled persecution due to their religious beliefs. Salve elucidated that the law seeks to address the plight of minorities in these countries where religious freedom is constrained, owing to the official designation of Islam as the state religion.
“The Home Minister has explained the context of the law, and the context of the law is that there was an Indian subcontinent prior to 1947. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and what is now known as Bangladesh were very much a part of it. And this was liberal. Of course, there were principalities, but India was liberal. My wife comes from Afghanistan. She grew up there in the 60s and 70s. She says it was a very liberal society. Their understanding was first the family, then the community, then the religion. Now, things have changed,” Mr Salve told the media
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Salve addressed concerns regarding the exclusion of communities like the Rohingya, clarifying that the CAA’s classification is based on specific criteria to achieve its objectives. Drawing parallels with welfare policies, he explained the necessity of delineating classes to prevent over-classification and ensure constitutional validity.
“Things changed in Pakistan, which has declared itself an Islamic state. Bangladesh also calls itself an Islamic republic. And we all know Afghanistan’s misfortune with the Taliban,” he said.
“In a situation like this, the Home Minister has said that the non-Islamic population in these countries has dropped dramatically. So if India says people who are of Indian ethnicity, of the Indian subcontinent, the Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Christians, Hindus… they will get fast-track citizenship since they are not allowed to practice their own religion freely in these Islamic states. A theocratic state by definition has a state religion,” Mr. Salve said.
“So, if we fast-track their citizenship, if we say we will fit them into Indian society, I don’t see where the constitutional morality gets affected by this?” The top lawyer told the media.
Regarding the Rohingya issue, Salve acknowledged the complexities within theocratic states but emphasized the CAA’s focus on addressing discrimination faced by minorities of Indian ethnicity in neighboring Islamic countries.
Salve dismissed comparisons with potential interventions by other countries, asserting that the responsibility to address internal affairs lies with the respective communities and governments. He emphasized the importance of respecting sovereign decisions while advocating for reforms within the Islamic faith by its adherents.
“If you make differential treatment, that must be in a nexus with the object to achieve. What is the class? The class is the minorities in the three neighbouring Islamic states. That is the class. What is the object to achieve? That the minorities in Islamic states are by definition of theocratic States treated differently from the majority or the State religion.
“The object to be achieved is these are minorities of Indian ethnicity, who are discriminated against, and the class is them, therefore we fit them in… It is perfectly constitutionally permissible in my point of view,” Mr Salve explained.
Referring to the Rohingya issue, he said it is possible that even within a theocratic state, people of the state religion are treated differently.
“But can you deny the fact that in a state religion, there is a state religion, and there are religions discouraged by the state? These are the classifications. We are not fixing the problems of the Islamic faith. We would be stepping out of line if we were to do that,” Mr. Salve told the media.
“How would somebody like it if Pakistan said certain communities of Hindus are not properly treated in India and that it would give free citizenship and money? We would then say, ‘don’t poke your nose in our affairs’. Islam is a religion. And if Islam is not being properly administered, it is for the people of the Islamic faith to fix it,” he said.
The implementation of the CAA, a significant agenda item for the BJP before the 2019 elections. Home Minister Amit Shah has accused critics, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, of misrepresenting the law to the public.
