Seattle City Council passed a resolution condemning attempts to divide and discriminate people based on religion, as sought to be done by the BJP led government in India through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
Council member, Kshama Sawant moved the resolution, which was criticised on the ground that it didn't concern city affairs of Seattle. It was countered by the argument that Seattle had a sizeable population of South Asian immigrants and they were getting unsettled by developments in India.
US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal had earlier criticised Indian government's decision to abrogate Article 370 and impose a virtual lockdown of Kashmir for over 6 months. India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, withdrew from a meeting in which Ms Jayapal was to participate. She has subsequently also raised concerns about the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Lawmakers in European Parliament have also introduced a resolution criticising India's move to exclude Muslims from getting citizenship in case of distressful migration.
Do citizens of other countries have a right to criticise policies of Indian government? They certainly have a right to express their opinions. We have also seen in the past that business, military and political relationships are formed between likeminded countries and peoples. We cannot express a strong relationship between people, communities and governments that do not share similar world views. The CAA goes to the root of who we are as a country and a nation. This is amply clear to anyone with a modicum of understanding of political processes. The government of the day seems either ignorant of or indifferent to such fundamental issues.
Already Malaysia, Bangladesh and Japan have shown their displeasure through words and actions, but our Government has miserably failed to address their concerns.
Council member, Kshama Sawant moved the resolution, which was criticised on the ground that it didn't concern city affairs of Seattle. It was countered by the argument that Seattle had a sizeable population of South Asian immigrants and they were getting unsettled by developments in India.
US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal had earlier criticised Indian government's decision to abrogate Article 370 and impose a virtual lockdown of Kashmir for over 6 months. India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, withdrew from a meeting in which Ms Jayapal was to participate. She has subsequently also raised concerns about the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Lawmakers in European Parliament have also introduced a resolution criticising India's move to exclude Muslims from getting citizenship in case of distressful migration.
Do citizens of other countries have a right to criticise policies of Indian government? They certainly have a right to express their opinions. We have also seen in the past that business, military and political relationships are formed between likeminded countries and peoples. We cannot express a strong relationship between people, communities and governments that do not share similar world views. The CAA goes to the root of who we are as a country and a nation. This is amply clear to anyone with a modicum of understanding of political processes. The government of the day seems either ignorant of or indifferent to such fundamental issues.
Already Malaysia, Bangladesh and Japan have shown their displeasure through words and actions, but our Government has miserably failed to address their concerns.
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