Muslim Women Speak:

Mapping the Range of Responses Against CAA-NRC (2019) Acts

Abstract

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have sparked widespread discussion and debate due to their controversial nature. The CAA allows citizenship to be granted to specific religious minorities from neighboring countries, while the NRC aims to identify and remove unlawful immigrants. This paper carefully examines the reactions of Indian Muslim women to the CAA-NRC in various regions, with a particular focus on the Shaheen Bagh protest. These protesters, predominantly women, challenged gender norms and demonstrated the strength and resilience of Muslim women in Indian politics. The demonstrations emphasized the importance of interfaith harmony and challenged potential discrimination in the laws, stressing the importance of solidarity and collective resistance. Muslim women's inclusion in political discourse empowered them and inspired future generations to protect their rights and uphold the country's secular values. The diverse perspectives expressed during the CAA-NRC protests provide valuable insights into the complexities of equality, citizenship, and preserving India's secular values.

Introduction 

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are significant issues in India that have generated a great deal of debate. These two separate policies are related and have just recently been proposed in India. The Citizenship Amendment Act was enacted by the Indian Parliament in December 2019. The bill amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide a path to citizenship for those who entered India illegally on or before December 31, 2014, and who identify as Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, or Christians. These individuals were immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The legislation excluding Muslims from entering these nations has sparked demonstrations and outrage from some Muslims, specifically women (Hausman, 2020).

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a proposed registry that seeks to create a comprehensive database of all Indian citizens. The primary objective of the NRC is to identify and eliminate any unauthorized immigrants residing in India. The NRC has been implemented in the state of Assam, where it has generated widespread controversy. Many individuals, even those who have lived in the state for years, have been excluded from the registry, raising concerns about the accuracy and fairness of the process. A significant number of people, particularly Muslims, will become stateless if the NRC is widely implemented across the country (Shoaib, 2019).

The Indian government has implemented two distinct mechanisms, namely the CAA and the NRC, to address the issue of illegal immigration in the country. However, there have been allegations that both actions are anti-Muslim, which has led to large-scale protests and disagreements. A non-violent sit-in protest known as the Shaheen Bagh protest was held in the Shaheen Bagh neighborhood of New Delhi, India, from December 15, 2019, to March 24, 2020. Women led the protest, which took place on a neighboring public street, against the CAA. The demonstration gained significant attention and support from people in India and other nations, as it was seen as a symbol of resistance against the alleged deterioration of human rights (Puranam, 2020).

The demonstration was seen as a symbol of resistance against what many viewed as India's declining democratic and secular values. It was also seen as a response to police brutality towards Jamia Millia Islamia University students who were protesting the CAA in December 2019. The police's use of force to disband the protest sparked widespread anger and condemnation. The protest lasted for over three months and drew participants from various backgrounds, including students, activists, artists, and intellectuals. Although mainly peaceful, the protest was eventually dispersed due to the COVID-19 lockdown (Ara, 2021).

In Indian politics, Muslim women occupy a complicated and varied position. It is imperative to thoroughly examine the reactions of Indian Muslim women to the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 to gain insight into their political participation. Despite some progress in political representation, this group still faces numerous challenges. By analyzing their experiences in politics, a better understanding can be gained regarding their overall participation.

Women's involvement in such efforts defies traditional gender norms and entrenched gender roles. Women have historically been marginalized from political activism and decision-making. Their rights for having their voices heard and to engage with politics have been reaffirmed by their participation in anti-CAA-NRC protests. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, is an issue on which Muslim women in India, like any other group of people, have a wide array of perspectives.

This paper tries to map the diversity of views and opinions among Muslim women in India against CAA-NRC in various regions, such as the Northeast, with an emphasis on local areas of importance to demonstrations against the acts. The next section will explain the acts in detail followed by a discussion of the range of responses from Muslim women in various parts of the country. The last section goes on to discuss the reasons for the huge protests and the massive repercussions of the acts for the Muslim community in particular and the secular fabric of the country in general.

The Acts

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 aims to streamline the process for immigrants who arrived in India from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014, to obtain citizenship. These individuals have been granted an exemption by the Central Government under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India Act, 1920) or from the application of the Foreigners Act, 1946, to attain citizenship. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was officially released on December 12, 2019, and took effect on January 10, 2020 (Ministry of Law & Justice, 2019).

The government is still deliberating whether to create the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) on the national level. In addition, the Government chose to update the National Population Register (NPR) per the Citizenship Act of 1955 in conjunction with the Census's first phase in 2021 (Ministry of Home Affairs, Press Information Bureau, 2021). During the process of revising NPR, the demographic information and other specifics of each household and person were to be updated and collected. During the course of this exercise, no documents were to be collected. In the meantime, the update of NPR and other relevant field efforts had been put off because of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The National Register of Citizens was established in 1951 following a comprehensive census of every village. This document systematically records each house or holding in a specific order, along with the names and number of occupants listed next to each. It is important to note that the NRC was only published once, in 1951  (Drishti IAS, 2022).

Citizenship defines the relationship between the nation and the people who constitute it. It confers upon individuals’ certain rights, such as protection by the state, the right to vote, and the right to hold certain public offices, among others, in return for the fulfillment of certain duties and obligations owed by the individual to the state. The Constitution of India provides for single citizenship for the whole of India (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2023).

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 aims to make changes in the Citizenship Act, the Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act if the illegal migrants belong to religious minority communities from three neighboring countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Act seeks to rectify the Citizenship Act, of 1955 to make Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship of India (BYJU’S, 2023).

In other words, the Act intends to make it easier for persecuted people from India’s neighboring countries to become citizens of India. Individuals who were "forced or compelled to seek shelter in India due to persecution based on religion" have been protected by the legislation. It attempts to safeguard these individuals from illegal immigration processes. For individuals who practice any of these six religions, the amendment shortens the naturalization period from 11 years to 5 years. To obtain Indian citizenship, the applicant must have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. If granted citizenship, the individual will be considered an Indian citizen, and any legal actions related to their previous illegal immigration or citizenship will be dismissed (2019).

It is stated that individuals who have been granted Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, which enable people of Indian origin to live and work in India permanently, could lose their status if they violate any local laws, regardless of the severity of the offense. The amendment specifies that undocumented immigrants are not eligible for citizenship in the Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura regions, which are tribal areas covered by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. These areas include the Tripura Tribal Areas District, Garo Hills, Chakma District, Karbi Anglong (all located in Assam), Meghalaya, and Mizoram. The Inner Line Permit under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, would also not apply to the regions it covers (Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, 2023).

However, the act is seen as being against Muslims. The fundamental criticism of the Act has been that it specifically targets Muslims. Thus, the religious basis of citizenship violates not only the principles of secularism but also those of liberalism, equality, and justice. It fails to allow Shia, Balochi, and Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan and Hazaras in Afghanistan, who also face persecution, to apply for citizenship. A key argument by the critics against the CAA is that it will not extend to those persecuted in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, where Rohingya Muslims and Tamils are staying as refugees (BYJU’S, 2023). 

According to critics, article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality, is allegedly violated. “The CAA is a breach of Article 14, which calls for non-arbitrary classifications as well as reasonable classification and a rational and just purpose to be accomplished for any classification to be lawful.” One of the critiques is that this Act is an example of unreasonable and biased law because the Indian Constitution makes it unlawful to categorize people based on their religious beliefs (Chadha, 2020).

CAA will deny equal protection of laws to similarly placed persons who come to India as “illegal migrants”. The provisions of CAA might lead to a situation where a Rohingya who has saved himself from harm in Myanmar by crossing into India will not be entitled to be considered for citizenship, while a Hindu from Bangladesh, who might be an economic migrant and has not faced any direct persecution in his life, would be entitled to citizenship. Similarly, a Tamil from Jaffna escaping the atrocities in Sri Lanka will continue to be an “illegal migrant” and never be entitled to apply for citizenship by naturalization. 

After the NRC was first introduced in 1951, Assam and the Census of India were the first to update it by incorporating the names of individuals and their descendants whose names had been successfully registered in the NRC of 1951 or were uncovered on any electoral rolls up until the stroke of midnight on March 24, 1971. Identification of the illegal immigrants who had entered Assam from Bangladesh during the 1971 war with Pakistan was the primary goal of the enactment and updating of the NRC in Assam (Office of State Coordinator of National Registration, NRC, Assam, 2014).

This is a sensitive issue in Assam as many complain of mass infiltrations from the eastern border that are seen to be eroding Assamese culture and changing the demographics of the region. The Act also appears to violate the Assam Accord, both in letter and spirit. The Assam Accord, signed between the then Rajiv Gandhi-led central government and the All-Assam Students’ Union (AASU), had fixed March 24, 1971, as the cutoff date for foreign immigrants. Those illegally entering Assam after this date were to be detected and deported, irrespective of their religion (Government of Assam, 2023). The Citizenship Amendment Act moved the cutoff date for six religions to December 31, 2014, something that is not acceptable to the Assamese-speaking people in Brahmaputra Valley, who insist that all illegal immigrants should be treated as illegal. The indigenous residents of Assam have been worried about losing their cultural identity and the state's demographics since migration began into the region in 1950 (Government of Assam, 2023).

Thus, in the Northeastern states, the prospect of citizenship for massive numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants has triggered deep anxieties, including fears of demographic change, loss of livelihood opportunities, and erosion of the indigenous culture. There is also an economic problem. If tens of thousands leave Bangladesh and start staying legally in Assam and North East India, the pressure will first show in the principal economic resource—land. Also, since these will be legitimate citizens, there will be more people joining the queue of job hopefuls that can potentially lower opportunities for the indigenous and the locals. It also boils down to the political rights of the people of the state. Migration has been a burning issue in Assam. There is a view that illegal immigrants, who will eventually become legitimate citizens, will be determining the political future of the state. 

Repercussions and Response from the Acts

The heart-wrenching story from Northeastern India depicts the brutality of CAA-NRC against women.  Minara Begum was born in Lathigram, in Cachar district of Assam. She lost her father, Usman Ali, at a very young age. When she grew up, she was married to Rahimuddin, who is a daily wage laborer. In the third week of July 2009, she gave birth to a daughter, Shahanara Begum, and on August 8, 2009, she was declared an illegal foreigner and deported to the Kokrajhar detention camp, along with her new-born child, who was barely 15 days old. Shahanara grew up in prison with her mother. Minara’s father and grandfather were residents of Thaligram; her grandfather had been living there since 1946, and they have the documents to prove it. Despite having all the documents, like land deeds and legacy data, she still couldn’t produce them on time, nor did she have the necessary documents to prove that she was Usman Ali’s daughter. The case study worded by Riya Ghosh Ray in The Outlook magazine in the year 2023, provides a testament to the harsh realities that are being subjected to the most vulnerable population of India.

Bengali-speaking Muslim peasants like Minara, who were driven out of their homes by the government remain in Assamese relief camps, torn between the existential crises of dwindling citizenship rights and the constant uncertainty of relocation. The combination of CAA, NRC, and NPR could disproportionately affect marginalized communities, including religious and ethnic minorities, lower-caste individuals, and socio-economically disadvantaged groups. The fear is that people who lack proper documentation or face challenges in obtaining necessary documents may be unable to prove their citizenship, leading to their exclusion and potential statelessness. Concerns have been raised that the CAA, coupled with the NRC and NPR, could discriminate against Muslim communities. The CAA provides a path to citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from neighboring countries, while the NRC and NPR could potentially target Muslims who are unable to provide adequate documentation, leaving them vulnerable to exclusion and potential statelessness (Ray, 2023).

The process of proving citizenship under the NRC and NPR could impose a significant burden on vulnerable populations, particularly those lacking access to education, resources, or documentation. Obtaining the necessary paperwork may be challenging for individuals who face socioeconomic hardships or have been historically marginalized. The combined impact of these policies raises human rights concerns, including the right to equality, non-discrimination, and freedom of religion. The potential exclusion of vulnerable populations and the perceived targeting of specific religious communities could be seen as violating these principles.

There are still many layers to peel back to fully grasp Muslim women's perception of Indian politics. Muslim women are more than just puppets hidden by veils or victims of systemic advocacy; they are a powerful force that has the potential to bring about significant changes in India's political structure. After the conclusion of the two acts, many people were skeptical about whether the Muslim population would remain silent.

The simple enforcement of these laws has sparked intellectual and widespread criticism that the notion of Muslims not belonging to India without specific documentation has been strictly put up to question for the public at large. Many Protests such as at Shaheen Bagh in India were largely spearheaded by Muslim women. The controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) were the targets of these demonstrations. Indian Muslim women broke down many barriers and questioned social norms by taking the lead in the Shaheen Bagh demonstrations (Kapoor, 2022). The protests gave Muslim women a secure space to be heard and seen, something that had never been done before. 

The story of three elderly Muslim women who played a significant role in the Shaheen Bagh protests is an inspiring one. Bilkis Bano, a woman of 85 years, alongside her friends Asma Khatoon (90) and Sarwari (75), joined hundreds of other Muslims under a canopy tent at Shaheen Bagh, where they blocked a major highway in Delhi for over three months. Bilkis shared that while she did not experience discrimination when she was young, recent events in India have troubled her greatly, particularly an incident that occurred near her home in Shaheen Bagh. She believes that the citizenship act is unfair, as undocumented Muslims are unable to become citizens. Bilkis wonders where they can get documents, especially for children whose parents are dead or abandoned. Having lived in India all her life, Bilkis believes that everyone should be treated equally. Upon hearing her neighbors planning to attend protests in their community, Bilkis knew that she had to join them. Despite being the oldest protester present, no one in her family was aware of her intention to protest. Bilkis aspires to religious harmony and for all individuals to come together once more. She believes that India's uniqueness stems from its diverse religions, cultures, people, and food (Tarrant, 2021).

Shaheen Bagh was an amalgamation of all of India, a mini demonstration of the diversity of the country's secular nature. The protest was in itself a pillar of Indian secularism since it saw people from all religions, castes, and livelihoods come together and protest peacefully against what a huge majority of Indian citizens thought was unlawful and unconstitutional. Shaheen Bagh was a very unique protest; the protesters knew what they were protesting against. Many of them were writers, poets, lawyers, activists, teachers, doctors, singers, painters, musicians, actors, and filmmakers from all parts of India who came together to stand in solidarity with the women (Salam, 2020).

The demonstrators were there to fight and resist intolerance and hate, to protect the freedom of speech and the right to dissent. They talked about the inequalities of the caste system, gender equality; ways to resist assaults on the Constitution, the judicial system, and investigative agencies; the need for justice for the disenfranchised and marginalized. With all of this, there was music and singing, and poetry. Songs of resistance, songs of hope, and sometimes just songs to sing along with. Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Muslims recited their prayers together. One particular discovery was the verses of a young student poet who promised the world that the memory of these unfortunate times would not be erased. The mood was celebratory, defiant, and euphoric. Everybody participated including the women of Shaheen Bagh. And the poem that became the anthem for protestors in the “mini-Shaheen Baghs” sprouting across the country and at marches in towns and cities was written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the internationalist Marxist poet. It was a poem that reminded people of the inevitable arrival of Judgement Day. Visuals of women, men, and children, have made Shaheen Bagh a story in itself. 

The Shaheen Bagh protests represented a significant milestone as they defied gender stereotypes, cultural norms, and religious biases. The spearheading force behind this movement was Indian Muslim women, who exhibited remarkable strength, resilience, and perseverance. The impact of their actions on their communities and the future of their country cannot be understated, thereby highlighting the immense power wielded by Muslim women.

Conclusion

The implementation of these policies has led to social divisions and widespread protests in some parts of India. The contentious nature of the CAA, NRC, and NPR debate has resulted in polarized opinions and tensions within society, potentially exacerbating existing fault lines and causing unrest.

In Indian society, Muslim women have historically had limited access to political activism and public protests. Muslim women thus displayed their agency and their capacity to speak out on significant topics by actively spearheading the protests. They participated in large numbers, defying misconceptions about their abilities and debunking gender and religious biases. By refusing to fit into conventional gender norms and showcasing their strength, resilience, and leadership skills, they debunked the notion that Muslim women are quiet or meek. These women weren't alone; males stood by their sides, providing little more than support and preventing chaos. Muslim women felt emboldened by these demonstrations because they took an opportunity to actively engage in political discourse which provided them with a sense of agency. They demonstrated their capacity to influence public opinion, take part in political discussions, and safeguard their rights.

The women at the forefront of the Shaheen Bagh protests made it their responsibility to uphold their right to India as much as any other citizen, even though the proposed acts were intended to attack the Muslim population in India and make them uneasy about living their normal lives while the religious bias violated the secular principles of the Indian Constitution. These women have proven that India is their homeland and that they will go to any lengths to establish their rights.

During the Shaheen Bagh demonstrations, people of various religious affiliations came together to support the cause, signifying interfaith harmony. Muslim women played a crucial role in fostering this unity, dismantling barriers across communities, and emphasizing the importance of collective resistance to discriminatory policies. They were among the demonstrators who actively interacted with the CAA and NRC's legal provisions. They protested to uphold constitutional rights that included equality and non-discrimination and sought to raise awareness of the laws' potential for discrimination. Their involvement demonstrated an in-depth comprehension of legal ideas and an unwavering dedication to preserving the law.

Future generations were inspired by the leadership displayed by Indian Muslim women during the demonstrations against CAA NRC. Young girls who witnessed these occurrences were inspired to overcome cultural constraints and fight for their rights because they were able to perceive themselves as agents of change. The diversity of voices that came out during the CAA-NRC protests is remarkable and historical for empowering a large section of Indian women in preserving the secular fabric of the Indian nation.

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