Under the law, Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists and Jains who fled persecution in neighboring Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan have an expedited path to citizenship. The law applies to refugees who arrived in India before 2015.
But the CAA excludes Muslims, angering and worrying India’s 200 million-strong Muslim population.
The recent spate of canceled visits by Bangladeshi ministers is indicative of “tensions in relations,” said Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, professor of international relations at Dhaka University.
The controversial legislation deeply worries Indian Muslims, he says, who out of fear of detention or other reprisals may stream into Bangladesh, which is already hosting roughly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. “Where will they go except Bangladesh?” he told the Nikkei Asian Review.
Touhid Hossain, a former foreign secretary of Bangladesh, warns that the CAA will be a “sword of Damocles hanging over Bangladesh,” adding that “It may pose a problem anytime.”
But Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood, a director general of the South Asia department at Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, downplayed fears.
Mahmood said he feels “reassured” by the pledge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made to his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, referring that Bangladesh would not be affected by any national register of citizens.
Still, he says, “We’re monitoring the situation.”
The Assam incident was further exacerbated by remarks from India’s powerful home minister, Amit Shah’s, who hinted at introducing a national register to kick out “illegal” migrants, who he described as “termites.”
An official of Bangladesh’s home ministry told media that recent attempts to deport people from India had been prevented by Bangladeshi border guards. Still, he said about 445 Bangladeshis who had previously entered India illegally returned home last year.
Other officials have said that the number of returnees has increased since November.
Bangladesh’s telecom regulator cut mobile communication service on Dec. 29 along a 1-km stretch of border, citing security concerns — a move that affected nearly 10 million cellular phone users. The restrictions were lifted on Jan. 1.
To Hossain, New Delhi’s actions are stoking anti-Indian sentiment among Bangladeshis, who fear another refugee crisis.
Calling the issue a potentially mini-Rohingya crisis, opposition journalist union leader Syed Ali Asfar says that while Indian Muslims may try to sneak into Bangladesh, Bangladeshi Hindus may seek citizenship in India.
c.asia.nikkei.com
