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CAB became CAA: the unclicked angles of Assam
One of the most controversial Bills ever in India, The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, after a series of heated protests and bitter tongued criticisms, became The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 at midnight on 12th December, 2019. The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, with the inclusion of new provisions in the earlier Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, was tabled in the Lok Sabha, or the Lower House of the Parliament by the Home Minister Sri Amitabh Anil Chandra Shah aka Amit Shah, the so acclaimed Political Chanakya, on 9th December, 2019. After the Bill successfully cleared the Lok Sabha, it was further tabled in the Rajya Sabha, or the Upper House of the Parliament on 11th December, 2019. Like in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha also voted to pass the Bill making a clear road for the Bill to the Rashtrapati Bhawan for the final stamping of the Bill into an Act by the President of India. As expected, The President Ram Nath Kovind gave his final accent on 12th December, 2019 at midnight hour.
THE KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ACTThe Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is enacted to amend the erstwhile Citizenship Act of 1955 with some major alteration in its citizenship policy.
1. This Act shall give Citizenship of India to the immigrants of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh coming to India on or before 31st December, 2014, who were persecuted religious minorities of those three countries.
2. Religious minorities include Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, Christians, Persians but does not include Muslims.
3. The duration of stay in India shall become 5 years to become eligible for applying for citizenship instead of earlier 6 years as prescribed by The Citizenship Bill, 2016 and also instead of 12 years as prescribed in The Citizenship Act, 1955.
4. All the cases registered against those immigrants under the Passport Act, 1920 and Foreigners Act, 1946 shall be withdrawn.
CAB TO CAA: DATEPICKS FROM THE DIARY
09.12.2019: Tabled in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah. Passed with 310-80 votes.
11.12.2019: Tabled in the Rajyasabha, passed with 125-105 votes.
12.12.2019: Received President’s accent and became Act.
THE ASSAM’s ANGLE The land of Assam, a beauty by nature, is famous for its rich cultural heritage. The Assamese is the language which unite the people of this state. Assam has a history of dedicated movements against the illegal immigrants. The state of Assam has been fighting against the issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh for quite a long time. The Citizenship Amendment Bill had been disturbing the people of Assam since it was first introduced, because Assam did not want to settle more immigrants at any cost.
There was call for Assam Bandh by various student unions from 9th December onwards. The common people forwarded uncoerced support everywhere. It soon turned into a mass movement. Students, teachers, artists, singers, actors, authors came forward at large to offer their support. There was reportedly resignation of grass root BJP party workers in large numbers.
AXOM ANDULAN v2.0 The series of mass movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act may be rightly termed as the new verse of the AXOM ANDULAN. People came out at large for the safeguard of their own culture, language and land and for fighting against the immigrant issue.
Assam Bandh prevailed from 9th December onwards. Gradually the mass movement also turned into violent form from 11th December onwards. The government imposed ban on internet services across ten districts of Brahmaputra Valley from 11th December, 7 pm onwards. Though at initial phase the government wanted to ban it for 24 hours, but in the purview of deteriorating law and order situation, it was switched off till 17th December.
What we got?
1. Constitution of a High-Level Committee: The Assam Chief Minister Sri Sarbananda Sonowal, in order to neutralize the ongoing protests, formed a High-Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Retired High Court Judge Sri Biplav Kumar Sharma for considering the matter of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, 1985. The Committee shall furnish a report by the deadline of 15th January, 2020 stating their findings regarding how the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, 1985 may be implemented.
2. Unity: The present movement established an intense unity among the people of Assam. People of Assam irrespective of their religion, language and community extended all pervasive support at large. In fact, the cultural uniqueness attaches the people of Assam emotionally, which make the people of this land unique in whole of India.
3. Awareness among the youth: The ever weeping compliant of the elders that the young generation is not aware of the societal issues, was held wrong in this movement because in the present movement the youth took active participation for the safeguard of their motherland. In fact, the students took up the leadership of the movement at large scale.
What we lost?
1. Martyrs: The ongoing protests took lives of five young boys, who are now badged martyrs for the sake of their land, language and culture. The young eyes full of dreams and aspirations closed forever in eternal sleep, which we believe the biggest loss a nation can ever bear.
We pay tribute to the Martyrs and pray to God that their pure souls rest in peace. The Government should take immediate measures to compensate the Martyrs’ families.
2. Economic Losses: The ongoing protests created indeed economic havoc. There was economic blockade in the state, resulting in scarcity of necessary commodities everywhere. A short-term price hike was noticed, and price of commodities even leaped by double. The government imposed curfew in the sensitive districts like Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Guwahati etc only to name a few places. The free movement of people and goods across the state was not possible during the period. The online business portals like Ola, Uber, Flipkart, Amazon etc. occurred heavy losses due to continuous ban on internet services. The banking services were also affected.
3. Tourism affected: The tourists and travelers got stashed in airports, bus stations, railway stations etc. and they had to pass days and night in the platforms with profound uncertainty. America, Britain, France and Canada issued Travel Advisory to their citizens who were traveling in the North Eastern parts of India.
11.12.2019: Tabled in the Rajyasabha, passed with 125-105 votes.
12.12.2019: Received President’s accent and became Act.
THE ASSAM’s ANGLE The land of Assam, a beauty by nature, is famous for its rich cultural heritage. The Assamese is the language which unite the people of this state. Assam has a history of dedicated movements against the illegal immigrants. The state of Assam has been fighting against the issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh for quite a long time. The Citizenship Amendment Bill had been disturbing the people of Assam since it was first introduced, because Assam did not want to settle more immigrants at any cost.
There was call for Assam Bandh by various student unions from 9th December onwards. The common people forwarded uncoerced support everywhere. It soon turned into a mass movement. Students, teachers, artists, singers, actors, authors came forward at large to offer their support. There was reportedly resignation of grass root BJP party workers in large numbers.
AXOM ANDULAN v2.0 The series of mass movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act may be rightly termed as the new verse of the AXOM ANDULAN. People came out at large for the safeguard of their own culture, language and land and for fighting against the immigrant issue.
Assam Bandh prevailed from 9th December onwards. Gradually the mass movement also turned into violent form from 11th December onwards. The government imposed ban on internet services across ten districts of Brahmaputra Valley from 11th December, 7 pm onwards. Though at initial phase the government wanted to ban it for 24 hours, but in the purview of deteriorating law and order situation, it was switched off till 17th December.
What we got?
1. Constitution of a High-Level Committee: The Assam Chief Minister Sri Sarbananda Sonowal, in order to neutralize the ongoing protests, formed a High-Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Retired High Court Judge Sri Biplav Kumar Sharma for considering the matter of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, 1985. The Committee shall furnish a report by the deadline of 15th January, 2020 stating their findings regarding how the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, 1985 may be implemented.
2. Unity: The present movement established an intense unity among the people of Assam. People of Assam irrespective of their religion, language and community extended all pervasive support at large. In fact, the cultural uniqueness attaches the people of Assam emotionally, which make the people of this land unique in whole of India.
3. Awareness among the youth: The ever weeping compliant of the elders that the young generation is not aware of the societal issues, was held wrong in this movement because in the present movement the youth took active participation for the safeguard of their motherland. In fact, the students took up the leadership of the movement at large scale.
What we lost?
1. Martyrs: The ongoing protests took lives of five young boys, who are now badged martyrs for the sake of their land, language and culture. The young eyes full of dreams and aspirations closed forever in eternal sleep, which we believe the biggest loss a nation can ever bear.
We pay tribute to the Martyrs and pray to God that their pure souls rest in peace. The Government should take immediate measures to compensate the Martyrs’ families.
2. Economic Losses: The ongoing protests created indeed economic havoc. There was economic blockade in the state, resulting in scarcity of necessary commodities everywhere. A short-term price hike was noticed, and price of commodities even leaped by double. The government imposed curfew in the sensitive districts like Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Guwahati etc only to name a few places. The free movement of people and goods across the state was not possible during the period. The online business portals like Ola, Uber, Flipkart, Amazon etc. occurred heavy losses due to continuous ban on internet services. The banking services were also affected.
3. Tourism affected: The tourists and travelers got stashed in airports, bus stations, railway stations etc. and they had to pass days and night in the platforms with profound uncertainty. America, Britain, France and Canada issued Travel Advisory to their citizens who were traveling in the North Eastern parts of India.
CONCLUSION
The Democracy is formed with the voice of the people, so the government must respect the people’s opinion. In fact, the protests, movement carried out within the shield of the democracy are medium to communicate the voice of the people to the government. However, no one carries a right to take law in his or her own hand. So, unruly situation under any circumstances kills the soul of democracy. The government should have paid attention to the voice of the people at a very early stage and should have invited the protesters into a common room of mutual understanding. The government should now try to mitigate the issue without any further delay. The soul of democracy is to be protected not only by the public alone but also by the government as well.
Disclaimer:We, the Infobell team assume no responsibility for any loss or damage which may occur due to any unintended errors that might creep in this article. We further cannot guarantee regarding truth and fairness of the information included in this article. Some information may have been included wrongly or some information may have been omitted unintended as there was continuous disruption in the internet services making our internal sources completely inaccessible and we based this article completely on published and telecasted media reports. If you have any objection regarding any misstatement of facts, you may contact us at our e-Mail, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
The Democracy is formed with the voice of the people, so the government must respect the people’s opinion. In fact, the protests, movement carried out within the shield of the democracy are medium to communicate the voice of the people to the government. However, no one carries a right to take law in his or her own hand. So, unruly situation under any circumstances kills the soul of democracy. The government should have paid attention to the voice of the people at a very early stage and should have invited the protesters into a common room of mutual understanding. The government should now try to mitigate the issue without any further delay. The soul of democracy is to be protected not only by the public alone but also by the government as well.
Disclaimer:We, the Infobell team assume no responsibility for any loss or damage which may occur due to any unintended errors that might creep in this article. We further cannot guarantee regarding truth and fairness of the information included in this article. Some information may have been included wrongly or some information may have been omitted unintended as there was continuous disruption in the internet services making our internal sources completely inaccessible and we based this article completely on published and telecasted media reports. If you have any objection regarding any misstatement of facts, you may contact us at our e-Mail, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
