Is India on the Verge of a Civil War due to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC)?

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) have the Indians split into two factions. One faction supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act and the other opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed on 11^th December 2019, by the Indian Parliament. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955. It granted Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsi from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India before 31^st December 2014. The minimum aggregate period for residence has been reduced to 5 years from 11 years. It has been considered discriminatory, as the citizenship is given along religious lines and Muslims have been excluded. Nowhere in the CAA is written, that the government is granting citizenship to “religious persecuted minorities”.

The average person (the IQ of an average Indian is 82, which is in the range of low average) who opposes the CAA doesn’t understand the CAA. And interestingly, the average person who supports the CAA doesn’t understand it either.

Why does an average person (with IQ around the median) oppose the bill?

Why does an average person support the bill/act?

The CAA + NRC is like asking everyone to evacuate the house. Then those whose name will be called out, will gain entry into the house. The names will be obtained from National Population Register (NPR), which is the first step to NRC (It is not unusual for politicians not to lie). And those whose name is not called out will have to prove that their grandads had lived in that house. If they can’t they will be locked in the garage.

If there is even 0.1% error in this process, (learning through demonetization, the error rate can be higher), about 1.3 x 10⁶ people (more than a million) genuine people will be deprived of their citizenship. The non-Indians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will get easy entry through the backdoor of the CAA. While there will be inconvenience for the Indians who chose to live in India after 1947.

United India was divided into, India and Pakistan in 1947. United Pakistan was divided into Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1971. 1947 was a gamble moment for citizens to stay in either of the country they wanted. It was lucky for them who chose India, because India has economically developed way ahead than Pakistan. Now if the economic growth had been in reverse, would the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis come to India?

The CAA along with National Register for Citizens (NRC) will bring chaos in the country like demonetization did, with no positive end results but another time and energy consuming procedure for the poor and middle class. The NDA government lacks intellectuals in their cabinet. They implement laws without debating the consequences. And when the law is in effect, they will see the flaws and correct it accordingly. New rules will be made each day. The government doesn’t understand what it is doing. The government works on the principle of hit and trial. If there is a backlash, they will withdraw their statement and frame new rules. If there is no such thing – people silently accept the government’s mandate, then the rules are enforced.

The government should understand that these are real people, and not guinea pigs that they can experiment on. To test a new drug in the market, it requires a minimum of 10 years research. The doctor and researcher has to perform 4 stages of clinical trials (on animals and volunteers) before introducing a drug into the population. Each of the trials takes several months to years. When human beings are the subjects, great caution has to be taken when introducing something new. The life of every human being is precious. What we may consider is that just 10 people died while conducting an experiment, but for each of the 10 people it was their whole life. We have to see from eyes of the people at the receiving end, too. When the life of a human being is concerned we don’t have the luxury to commit errors.

 The government brings a law overnight, without much debate and expert opinion; without, any pilot projects, to assess the consequences of the law on the general public. After demonetization, more than 100 deaths of common citizens occurred as a direct effect, not to mention about the deaths that might have occurred indirectly. If such a case had happened in case of a drug company, the victims would have been compensated and the drug immediately withdrawn from the market. About 30 people are already dead in the protest against CAA. People who do not learn from history are blind in their mind and will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Here, if the government implements the NRC it will be like ripping people off their identity. So, the protest has a logical explanation. The Triple Talaq Bill and abrogation of section 370 was a loss of privilege to a certain section of the population. So, there was not much backlash. But when an individual fears the loss of his identity – fear of not being an Indian anymore, they will fight to their death. Because without identity, the life of a human is useless – just like that of animals, or inanimate objects. We exist as individuals, with a certain identity of race, religion, culture, and nation. The cultural and national identity is greater than religious identity. The formation of Bangladesh from Pakistan is the best example to support the statement. It’s not that people love their religion less, but it’s that people love their culture and nation more.

When laws are made by the government in an unplanned manner, there will be lack of coordination among the ministers. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister have been contradicting each other’s statement through their interviews and public speeches. And the BJP IT cell tweets and then deletes the tweet on Twitter after some days, which makes the people not to trust the government.

The intention of the government is malicious. Throughout the rallies (election & non-election), the Home Minister has expressed his views about the NRC and CAA. He said in his talk that Indians will have to prove their identity while foreign nationals who are non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who don’t have documents will be granted citizenship through the CAA. Aadhar card, passport, Voter Id won’t be valid proof for Indian Citizenship for Indians. The irony is that, the Voter Id which was valid for choosing the legislators becomes irrelevant as a document for citizenship. Do Indian Muslims need to worry about CAA + NRC? The government answers as – There is no need for Indians of any religion to worry about NRC. The explanation is dumb, because it doesn’t quell the fear that comes out, Why shouldn’t the Muslims need not worry?

There have been errors in Assam NRC. Family members of the former president Late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed have been left out in the NRC, in Assam. A war veteran of Kargil, had to spend time in detention centre because his name was left out. So, if errors like this can trouble someone who has reputation of service to the nation, what will poor landless people do, if they don’t have documents and when such errors comes up? They will have to run from pillar to post proving their identity. Their grandads who were born and died on this soil, left them no legacy. Will the government give them exemption? No, they will be getting detention. The Citizenship Amendment Act along with the National Register for Citizens won’t physically harm the Muslims who have documents to show. But it is like a mental blow to the Muslims, to let them know they are being discriminated on religious basis. It’s more of a psychological attack to make the Muslims feel alienated and powerless in their own country. It’s symbolic. No attempt has been made to allay the fears and give sound reasons to explain the “Why should the Muslims not worry?” that arises. Muslims fear this bill because of lack in faith in the government and the unreliable contradictory statements of men in power. It is more likely they will end up in a detention centre if they don’t have the required documents. The spelling mistakes which are quite common can prove to be disastrous. This is what hurts the most – when you have to prove your own identity! Do we have to prove that we are our father’s son? Doesn’t the society know that? Doesn’t it make us seem that we all are illegitimate? Doesn’t that kill our self-respect and ego?

Each one of us who contributed in this protest and lost their lives, will be remembered. After all in the long run, we all will be dead. But what will remain is how each one of us reacted to the circumstances around us – whether we faced it like a true human being aware of our conscience and existence or we choose to be subjugated to might and kill our conscience and ignore everything going around us. When a country is run by inefficient people who are proficient to teach religion than administration, what can one expect? The state and religion when mixed, brings dangerous dirty politics. It’s all about suppressing the poor masses through the opium of religion and hope.

All the political parties have treated the minorities along similar lines, mostly as vote banks. The economic growth of Muslims have spiraled down both during the Congress and BJP rule. However, Muslims didn’t understand their poor economic status during the UPA regime. They were like frogs being slowly warmed in a pail of water. The frog’s temperature gradually adjusts with the environment, and it ultimately dies boiled to death without knowing it was being harmed all along. Unlike the congress, the BJP has put the Muslims directly in a pail of boiling water.

Does the NDA government love India or the religion of the majority? Some can say, the BJP government loves religion more than India, because they side with immigrants (refugees & illegal), based on their religion and dislike for a particular community. It has united the likeminded who disliked people from the same community. The problem comes up when people bury their conscience in hatred and think whatever the government is doing, is good. Ultimately it will end in a civil strife, because of individuals opposed to each other.

We in India and Pakistan have questioned the patriotism of the minority. Now let’s question the patriotism of the majority. Let’s imagine a United India (India, Pakistan-Bangladesh). We have to elect a Prime Minister for this United India. However, the rules are- two candidates are running for the election. The first is a Hindu from Pakistan-Bangladesh and the second candidate is a Muslim from India. Whom will you vote for? It will be easy for the Indian Muslims and Pakistani Hindus to cast their votes. But the majority who shout Pakistan Zindabad (for the Pakistanis) and Bharat Mata ki Jai (for the Indians), their patriotism will be tested. Do you love your religion more or do you love your country more? The minorities were always questioned and persecuted for showing less love to their nation. Now when the tables are turned, who will you vote for? It’s likely that people who love their religion more won’t give a damn about the nation and vice-versa.  

The social media (especially Twitter and Facebook) is flooded with pro-CAA and anti-CAA support. WhatsApp messages are forwarded carrying lot of fake information, and the gullible people fails to verify it before forwarding. The social media and regular media follows the laws of the excitement theory. It states that, events which have low probability of occurrence, if they occur, are highly exciting. And exciting events feeds the news and are keenly followed. Exciting events are reported by the media with greater frequency to increase their Television Rating Point (TRP).

The social media is usually filled with hate speeches and riots scenes, these days. One faction spreads it so that the common people have a negative view of the other faction. This leads people to shift their alliance in the religious spectrum. Considering Hindus and Muslims to be the majority who are involved in this extremism, we plot a religious spectrum in India. I would argue that neither of the factions is wholly right. Those who support the CAA and calls themselves nationalists fails to realize they are supporting Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens. Those who oppose CAA should know that with proper verification, no one can deprive them of their citizenship. But what keeps the pot boiling is the intent of the government – which symbolically tries to marginalize a particular community, for the consolidation of their own vote bank.

Consider the spectrum of bluish- deep green to be the Muslim population and the reddish-yellow-light green to be the Hindu population.

1L ~ 5% of the Muslim population who are the extremists.

2L ~ 25% of the Muslim population, who are the vulnerable population, swayed to being moderates or extremists depending on circumstances.

3L ~ 40% of the Muslim population, who are the moderates.

C ~ 25% of the Muslim population + 25% of the Hindu population, who are secular.

3R ~ 40% of the Hindu population, who are moderates.

2R ~ 25% of the Hindu population, who are vulnerable population at the risk of being swayed to being moderates or extremists.

1R ~ 5% of the Hindu population, who are extremists.

Shift to Left & Shift to Right

There are extremists Muslims and Hindus, the 1L/1R category. They represent about 5% of the population, with an above average IQ and capability of influencing people around them. About 1% of the extremists are religious radicals. Their speeches are exciting and filled with adrenaline surging words. These groups play a dominant effect in the religion and politics of the Indian subcontinent. The radical elements tend to shift people from the centre to the extreme. A shift to the left or right can happen after listening to the fiery speeches from the radicalized leaders. The radicalization may have its reasons, but a Hindu/Muslim from the 2R/2L category listening to a speech from a 1R/1L leader have greater tendency to shift to the 1R/1L category. The 2R/2L category people are the vulnerable group, have lower than average IQ and are easily persuaded.

 The Centre region, which represents about 25% of the population are the true seculars who hold the fabric of this nation and have high emotional intelligence. They are not swayed by the communal speeches from either of the two communities. The centrists are people of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Maulana Azad, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, APJ Abdul Kaalam, Abdul Hamid, Mohammad Rafi, etc.

Close to the centre of the spectrum lies most of us – who are busy with their daily lives, the 3L/3R category. The balance in the country is made by the Moderates, which comprises the major chunk of population. The world is a much more “peaceful” and “tolerant” place, if you quit listening to the media. Normal events, which are usually boring (like kindness and altruism of a common citizen) go underreported. The events created by the minority population of 1L/1R category even though low in frequency, is exciting and therefore highly reported. If there is shift of the population towards the extreme (left and right), it will be like loading a ship at either of its end. Ultimately, the ship will rip apart right from the middle (imagine The Titanic).

The pro-CAA supporters are from the 1R + 2R category. While the anti–CAA protests are carried out by 1L + 2L + C + 3L + 3R (to some extent).

What is lacking in the country and also in the parliament is intellectuals. Intellectuals are an endangered species in India. As we grow, our intellect and power of reasoning is murdered by unscientific principles, forced in the name of ------------- (whatever).

We have a high-court judge who says peacocks/peahens are celibate their entire lives and reproduce by means of tears. The members of parliament are no less. A Member of Parliament (MP) from Gujarat says that cow dung and urine can cure cancer. The Education Minister, Mr. Satyapal Singh’s statement, “Darwin’s theory is scientifically wrong. Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, said they ever saw an ape turning into a human being.” The education minister of Rajasthan statement cows’ exhales oxygen is not what an education minister should make. Even we humans exhale 16% O₂ after inhaling 20% O₂ in air.  One MP says, “Astrology is the biggest science. It is, in fact above science. We should promote it.” Not to talk of about the Prime Minister who can hide planes behind the clouds so that radars can’t detect it. Do you think, if we have these type of ministers, we can scientifically grow and compete with the European nations or the Chinese?

The literate individuals are no less unscientific. A baba (he might wear orange or green, doesn’t matter) explains about the power of mind, and how the water molecules get energy and release energy. The power of mind changes the energy state of water molecules to make the result positive (whatever you wanted). Now, there are educated individuals, who explains that the baba must be correct because there are some mental waves which might have brought the change. Trying to explain an unscientific principle in the most pseudo-scientific way! What my friend fails to understand is that scientific principles are reproducible under similar conditions within an error limit. What a baba can do, so can you, so can I, so can a kid, if things are repeated exactly. That’s science, whether you believe in it or not. Not that something a baba can do, but you can’t because you lacked faith in the principle.

Dear government, some of us have better works to do other than getting into long queues outside the inefficient government official departments proving our citizenship. You have made many of us unemployed, and therefore think your decision is legitimate – but I assure you, there are some of us, who love working each and every day of our lives for the betterment of this country, so that this country becomes the most developed and powerful. You could as well pick out the suspects (illegal infiltrators), if you have plenty of time doing nothing. Akbar was not called The Great without a reason. He included Todar Mal in his court even though Todar Mal had worked for Sher Shah Suri, who fought against his father. When you keep aside your personal prejudices and work for the country, you acquire greatness. The government should listen to the critics. The greatest reason for a person to stop growing is to be surrounded by Yes People. They are the liars and hinders personal growth. We keep learning and growing throughout our lives. If our learning phase has stopped we are no less than dead.

I have a dream, wherein the religion of peace and the religion of tolerance will coexist in harmony. India of my dreams is not a divided India. I have a dream of a United India, where there will be universal brotherhood and people will not be divided on the basis of religion, caste, colour, and region. I have a dream of a larger India, an India beyond the reaches of hatred, bigotry and hypocrisy. Individual rights, freedom and life will be valued and prejudices against the weak and oppressed will be eliminated. An India that will bring the inclusive values of universal peace and harmony, and reinstate the role of a teacher to the world. The India of my dreams is perfect, and we will aspire to achieve it.  

O’ PM, my PM, what have you done?

The country is burning under the clouded sun!

The radicals that have emerged do not hesitate

To spread evil and hatred among the intimate.

O’ PM, my PM what have you done?

The fire within people ignites the country,

Destroys human capital, and leaves us in ignominy!

Look everywhere, the hatred that have been spread -

People debate religion more than economy and bread!

The brutality of the cops on the poor student

Isn’t what a democracy is meant!

Those in your support, have free reign

But your critics’ voice is forbidden.

The disgruntled voices’ agitations have just begun,

Tired of the yarn that you have spun,

O’ PM, my PM, what have you done?

The need of the hour is to love and trust,

To respect adversaries views and willingness to adjust,

To tie rakhis like we did in Bengal in 19 0 five,

To cultivate the bond of fraternity to live and thrive!

If the foes had been external, we would surely have won.

But you fiddle and let the country burn,

Are we not on the path to utter destruction?

Brothers have turned to foes, whilst democracy dies

The country lies broken, while my PM lies…

O' PM, my PM, what have you done!