Hindu Outfit Tells SC: CAA Is Essential For Pak Minorities

Balochistan Hindu Panchayat, an organization working for the protection of Hindus who fled Pakistan due to religious persecution has defended the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) before the Supreme Court.

The organization said the CAA is essential to protect minorities in three neighboring countries and it is not adverse to the principle of secularism.

In an application, the Delhi-based NGO contended the core the CAA passed in December 2019, claiming that it ensures well-being of religious minorities who face religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh as well as Afghanistan.

“India has not discriminated or set aside people from any particular community here. The CAA does not state that the Muslims will not be granted citizenship. Because Pakistan did not honor the Nehru-Liaquat Agreement, the government made a reasonable classification to prefer the communities of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, and Buddhist,” the NGO’s application stated.

The applicant has contended that the CAA did not say that if a Muslim immigrant were to apply for citizenship, it would not be considered.

The NGO’s application emphasized that Muslims were neither minorities nor do they face religious persecution because of their religion. It contended that CAA was based upon the principle of protecting minorities, as the Constitution from Article 29 to Article 30 provided for special treatment and protection to minorities, which is not available to them in Muslim majority countries.

“The right to avail citizenship is equally applicable for the religious majority of these three countries like other foreigners. It is only for religious minorities of these three countries, because of their being a persecuted class, their application for citizenship is being fast-tracked under the present amendment,” the NGO’s application stated.

The application has also challenged the maintainability of petitions under Article 32 as none of the petitioners was aggrieved by the legislation.