The Citizenship Amendment Bill cannot be seen in isolation of current political developments. In the true sense of the word, it reflects a battle of ideology. One side of the spectrum lies between BJP-RSS, and on the other, Congress and other regional parties.&nbsp;

I’m not going to hold any one party on a pedestal but the decision to allow non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan will definitely create a different template for the country. BJP’s idea of nation is derived from culture and that too from ancient India. BJP gives primacy to cultural nationalism. Even before BJP's inception, RSS and erstwhile Jan Sangh focused on India as a place for those who believed that India is a motherland. It is a mix modern concept of the nation with civilization. It is for this reason that Akhand Bharat’s picture still dawns the offices of RSS. RSS leaders continue to refer to India as a young country but an old nation.&nbsp;

The current bill from the perspective of RSS finishes the unresolved business of partition and presents&nbsp;India as a country where Hindus can take refugee without question. The bill also includes five other religions including Christianity. The bill strengthens the argument of cultural nationalism as the cornerstone of Indian nationalism. The issue may be new but it is essentially an old debate.

The idea of secularism remains unfinished business in India. Immediately after independence, India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru developed great reservation on Congress leaders participating in the reconstruction of Somnath temple in Gujarat. Despite his resistance, Congress leaders like Sardal Patel and K M Munshi went ahead and organised funds for its renovation. This debate of the relationship of state with religion did not stem from Jawahar and Patel. It basically stemmed from the pool of leaders who played an important part in framing the Constitution. There was no consensus on the words like secularism and socialism in the Constituent Assembly. 
 
It is for this reason that in the original Constitution, secularism and socialism as words do not exist in the Indian preamble.&nbsp;

Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, without debate or consultation, added secularism and socialism in the preamble of the Indian Constitution. She thought that the addition would end the debate on the character of the nation. It did not. The act itself was undemocratic. The words exist in the Constitution but lack consensus in the society. It is for this reason that debate continues to fester and gets reflected in multiple legislations and social-political actions of various parties. It was for this reason the word pseudo-secularism was born in the 1980s. &nbsp;

As mentioned, despite the insertion of the two words secular and socialism, social consensus does not exist in society. India continues to be deeply religious in nature with state actively using symbols of Sanatan Dharma in statecraft and economy-wise we are closer to capitalism than the socialism of Soviet Russia. We today have a capitalist economy with a huge welfare budget.

Even in the absence of the word secular and socialism, the Indian state under the original Constitution took care of minorities. CAB reflects a different political argument. It argues that since partition took place on the basis of religion, the Hindu self-expression cannot be sacrificed as the alter of the western concept of secularism.&nbsp;

Constitutions across the world reflect long-lasting principles of Liberal politics apart from unique social and political origins. They are also a dossier on social and political consensus. Islamic states across the world are the sole exception in this case. In Islamic states, the will of majority becomes a rule for the minority both in social action and through law. The best case in example is Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The amendment of the Citizenship Bill is part and parcel of the unfinished agenda of what Indian state should be.

It is for this reason, Citizenship Bill should not be seen from the prism of electoral politics. It should be seen from the prism of what defines nationhood. Whether you agree or disagree, RSS has a strong world view which is being implemented through the present government.&nbsp;

The abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir is one such example. The Indian Constitution is unlikely to be changed substantially. What eventually may happen is that the primacy of Hinduism in public life will become a reality. The first act of consolidation took place after the Ayodhya verdict where Hindu sentiments on what constitutes geographical sacredness were acknowledged by the Court.

CAB will be second such event if passed by the Parliament. India will not become a Hindu Rashtra with this amendment, but it will definitely change the rules of the game.&nbsp;

The nation will come closer to the cultural idea of India as the motherland of all Hindus.&nbsp;

Lastly, those in Opposition are also failing to realise how liberal democracies failed to address the issue of immigration and change in power equation which is also central to the idea of NRC and CAB. If implemented fully, it will test the ability of Opposition to take on BJP nationally as the idea of Hinduism as one religion and not an amalgamation of sub-nationalism is growing stronger by the day.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The Citizenship Amendment Bill cannot be seen in isolation of current political developments. In the true sense of the word, it reflects a battle of ideology. One side of the spectrum lies between BJP-RSS, and on the other, Congress and other regional parties.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill cannot be seen in isolation of current political developments. In the true sense of the word, it reflects a battle of ideology. One side of the spectrum lies between BJP-RSS, and on the other, Congress and other regional parties. I’m not going to hold any one party on a pedestal but the decision to allow non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan will definitely create a different template for the country. BJP’s idea of nation is derived from culture and that too from ancient India. BJP gives primacy to cultural nationalism. Even before BJP's inception, RSS and erstwhile Jan Sangh focused on India as a place for those who believed that India is a motherland. It is a mix modern concept of the nation with civilization. It is for this reason that Akhand Bharat’s picture still dawns the offices of RSS. RSS leaders continue to refer to India as a young country but an old nation. The current bill from the perspective of RSS finishes the unresolved business of partition and presents India as a country where Hindus can take refugee without question. The bill also includes five other religions including Christianity. The bill strengthens the argument of cultural nationalism as the cornerstone of Indian nationalism. The issue may be new but it is essentially an old debate. The idea of secularism remains unfinished business in India. Immediately after independence, India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru developed great reservation on Congress leaders participating in the reconstruction of Somnath temple in Gujarat. Despite his resistance, Congress leaders like Sardal Patel and K M Munshi went ahead and organised funds for its renovation. This debate of the relationship of state with religion did not stem from Jawahar and Patel. It basically stemmed from the pool of leaders who played an important part in framing the Constitution. There was no consensus on the words like secularism and socialism in the Constituent Assembly. It is for this reason that in the original Constitution, secularism and socialism as words do not exist in the Indian preamble. Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, without debate or consultation, added secularism and socialism in the preamble of the Indian Constitution. She thought that the addition would end the debate on the character of the nation. It did not. The act itself was undemocratic. The words exist in the Constitution but lack consensus in the society. It is for this reason that debate continues to fester and gets reflected in multiple legislations and social-political actions of various parties. It was for this reason the word pseudo-secularism was born in the 1980s. As mentioned, despite the insertion of the two words secular and socialism, social consensus does not exist in society. India continues to be deeply religious in nature with state actively using symbols of Sanatan Dharma in statecraft and economy-wise we are closer to capitalism than the socialism of Soviet Russia. We today have a capitalist economy with a huge welfare budget. Even in the absence of the word secular and socialism, the Indian state under the original Constitution took care of minorities. CAB reflects a different political argument. It argues that since partition took place on the basis of religion, the Hindu self-expression cannot be sacrificed as the alter of the western concept of secularism. Constitutions across the world reflect long-lasting principles of Liberal politics apart from unique social and political origins. They are also a dossier on social and political consensus. Islamic states across the world are the sole exception in this case. In Islamic states, the will of majority becomes a rule for the minority both in social action and through law. The best case in example is Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The amendment of the Citizenship Bill is part and parcel of the unfinished agenda of what Indian state should be. It is for this reason, Citizenship Bill should not be seen from the prism of electoral politics. It should be seen from the prism of what defines nationhood. Whether you agree or disagree, RSS has a strong world view which is being implemented through the present government. The abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir is one such example. The Indian Constitution is unlikely to be changed substantially. What eventually may happen is that the primacy of Hinduism in public life will become a reality. The first act of consolidation took place after the Ayodhya verdict where Hindu sentiments on what constitutes geographical sacredness were acknowledged by the Court. CAB will be second such event if passed by the Parliament. India will not become a Hindu Rashtra with this amendment, but it will definitely change the rules of the game. The nation will come closer to the cultural idea of India as the motherland of all Hindus. Lastly, those in Opposition are also failing to realise how liberal democracies failed to address the issue of immigration and change in power equation which is also central to the idea of NRC and CAB. If implemented fully, it will test the ability of Opposition to take on BJP nationally as the idea of Hinduism as one religion and not an amalgamation of sub-nationalism is growing stronger by the day. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Citizenship Amendment Bill: Secularism, unfinished business in India

Hindu farmer Surodhon Pal has packed his bags, eager to return to Myanmar after fleeing for Bangladesh during a wave of violence last year, but he is in a tiny minority -- most of the refugees are terrified of going home.

Bangladesh wants the more than 655,000 refugees who have flooded into the country since late August to start returning to Myanmar by the end of this month under a controversial agreement between the two nations.

The vast majority are Rohingya Muslims who have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, which sees them as illegal immigrants, even though many have lived there for generations.

They say they would rather stay in the squalid camps in Bangladesh than return to the scene of violence the US and the United Nations have said amounts to ethnic cleansing.

But a small community of Hindus who lived alongside the Rohingya in Myanmar&#39;s Rakhine state and were caught up in the turmoil say they do want to return.

&quot;We want security and we want food. If the authorities can give us those assurances we&#39;ll happily go back,&quot; Pal, 55, told AFP.

&quot;The Bangladeshi government and the UN looked after us well, but now we have prepared our bags and are ready to return to our country.&quot;

Last month Dhaka sent a list of 100,000 refugees to Myanmar authorities for repatriation after the two governments signed an agreement in November for the process to begin on January 23.

But rights groups and the United Nations say no one should be repatriated against their will and so far only around 500 Hindu refugees have expressed willingness to go.Modhuram Pal, a 35-year-old community leader, said some 50 Hindus had already returned to Rakhine where they were welcomed by Myanmar security forces.

Hindus who fled the area have told AFP that masked men stormed into their community and hacked victims to death with machetes before dumping them into freshly-dug pits.

Myanmar&#39;s military alleges the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (ARSA) carried out the massacre on August 25, the same day the rebel group staged deadly raids on police posts that sparked a military backlash.

At least 45 bodies have been found in mass graves.

The ARSA has denied the allegations, saying it does not target civilians.

But Pal and his fellow Hindu refugees say they will only go back if they are rehoused away from their former villages in Rakhine.

Monubala, a Hindu woman who like many of the refugees goes by one name, told AFP masked men dressed in black had attacked her village near Kha Maung Seik, where the massacre occurred.

&quot;I left my home, including my chickens, ducks, goats and all property, and came to Bangladesh to save my life,&quot; she said.

Doctors without Borders estimates that thousands were killed in the violence that hit Rakhine in late August.

Consistent accounts by Rohingya refugees of security forces and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs driving them out of their homes with bullets, rape and arson have shocked the globe.

Although the influx has slowed, hundreds of Rohingya are still crossing into Bangladesh, now home to around a million refugees.

Rights groups say the crackdown was the culmination of years of persecution and discrimination against the Muslim group in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, where they are effectively stateless and denigrated as outsiders.

It remains unclear why the Hindus were targeted, but they appear to have been caught in the middle of a conflict between the military and Rohingya militants. Some reports say each side viewed the Hindus as collaborators with the other.

Myanmar state media said last month that the Hindus would be first to be accepted back -- a stance that expert Shahab Enam Khan called a &quot;classic case of communal divide and rule&quot;.

&quot;The issue of religion as a tool for repression is visibly clear now, the global community should be aware,&quot; Khan, professor of International Relations at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, told AFP.

Tensions between the two communities have persisted in Bangladesh, where the Hindus live away from the main refugee camps.

Pal, the community leader, said two Hindu refugees in Bangladesh had been killed by Rohingya in a dispute over the sale of cattle they had brought over the border.

Local police chief Abul Khaer confirmed that a complaint had been lodged, and the body of one of the alleged victims found.

&quot;We were tortured because of the war between Myanmar government and the (Rohingya) rebels,&quot; Shshu Pal Shil, 25, told AFP in his makeshift shelter.

&quot;That&#39;s why we were forced to come to Bangladesh. If the Myanmar government wants to take us back now, we&#39;ll be happy to go back.&quot;&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Bangladesh wants more than 655,000 refugees to start returning to Myanmar by the end of this month

Hindu farmer Surodhon Pal has packed his bags, eager to return to Myanmar after fleeing for Bangladesh during a wave of violence last year, but he is in a tiny minority -- most of the refugees are terrified of going home. Bangladesh wants the more than 655,000 refugees who have flooded into the country since late August to start returning to Myanmar by the end of this month under a controversial agreement between the two nations. The vast majority are Rohingya Muslims who have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, which sees them as illegal immigrants, even though many have lived there for generations. They say they would rather stay in the squalid camps in Bangladesh than return to the scene of violence the US and the United Nations have said amounts to ethnic cleansing. But a small community of Hindus who lived alongside the Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state and were caught up in the turmoil say they do want to return. "We want security and we want food. If the authorities can give us those assurances we'll happily go back," Pal, 55, told AFP. "The Bangladeshi government and the UN looked after us well, but now we have prepared our bags and are ready to return to our country." Last month Dhaka sent a list of 100,000 refugees to Myanmar authorities for repatriation after the two governments signed an agreement in November for the process to begin on January 23. But rights groups and the United Nations say no one should be repatriated against their will and so far only around 500 Hindu refugees have expressed willingness to go.Modhuram Pal, a 35-year-old community leader, said some 50 Hindus had already returned to Rakhine where they were welcomed by Myanmar security forces. Hindus who fled the area have told AFP that masked men stormed into their community and hacked victims to death with machetes before dumping them into freshly-dug pits. Myanmar's military alleges the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (ARSA) carried out the massacre on August 25, the same day the rebel group staged deadly raids on police posts that sparked a military backlash. At least 45 bodies have been found in mass graves. The ARSA has denied the allegations, saying it does not target civilians. But Pal and his fellow Hindu refugees say they will only go back if they are rehoused away from their former villages in Rakhine. Monubala, a Hindu woman who like many of the refugees goes by one name, told AFP masked men dressed in black had attacked her village near Kha Maung Seik, where the massacre occurred. "I left my home, including my chickens, ducks, goats and all property, and came to Bangladesh to save my life," she said. Doctors without Borders estimates that thousands were killed in the violence that hit Rakhine in late August. Consistent accounts by Rohingya refugees of security forces and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs driving them out of their homes with bullets, rape and arson have shocked the globe. Although the influx has slowed, hundreds of Rohingya are still crossing into Bangladesh, now home to around a million refugees. Rights groups say the crackdown was the culmination of years of persecution and discrimination against the Muslim group in mainly Buddhist Myanmar, where they are effectively stateless and denigrated as outsiders. It remains unclear why the Hindus were targeted, but they appear to have been caught in the middle of a conflict between the military and Rohingya militants. Some reports say each side viewed the Hindus as collaborators with the other. Myanmar state media said last month that the Hindus would be first to be accepted back -- a stance that expert Shahab Enam Khan called a "classic case of communal divide and rule". "The issue of religion as a tool for repression is visibly clear now, the global community should be aware," Khan, professor of International Relations at Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, told AFP. Tensions between the two communities have persisted in Bangladesh, where the Hindus live away from the main refugee camps. Pal, the community leader, said two Hindu refugees in Bangladesh had been killed by Rohingya in a dispute over the sale of cattle they had brought over the border. Local police chief Abul Khaer confirmed that a complaint had been lodged, and the body of one of the alleged victims found. "We were tortured because of the war between Myanmar government and the (Rohingya) rebels," Shshu Pal Shil, 25, told AFP in his makeshift shelter. "That's why we were forced to come to Bangladesh. If the Myanmar government wants to take us back now, we'll be happy to go back."

Hindu refugees eagerly await return to Myanmar

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Citizenship Amendment Bill: Secularism, unfinished business in India

Hindu refugees eagerly await return to Myanmar