WASHINGTON: US Senator Ben Cardin has raised apprehensions regarding the Indian government’s implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), expressing particular worry about its potential implications on India’s Muslim community.
Senator Cardin, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, conveyed his concerns in a statement, emphasizing the need for the US-India relationship to be founded on shared values of upholding human rights for all citizens, irrespective of religion.
India recently implemented the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, enabling the granting of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
India Implements Controversial Citizenship Amendment Act
Expressing his reservations, Senator Cardin remarked, “I am deeply concerned by the Indian government’s decision to notify its controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, particularly the law’s potential ramifications on India’s Muslim community. Making matters worse is the fact that it is being pushed during the holy month of Ramadan.”
The US State Department had also previously voiced apprehensions regarding the implementation of the CAA, emphasizing the importance of respect for religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities as fundamental democratic principles.
