Teesta Setalvad, a human rights activist, expressed her concern that the Narendra Modi government will start imposing the “bhayanak shaitan (terrifying devil)” of its contentious citizenship matrix upon the country as early as next year. She claimed that this could, with the venom of hatred, destroy India’s social fabric beyond recognition.
On Saturday night, Setalvad took part in a panel discussion about the “Indian Constitution and Democracy” at the Iran Society on Kyd Street. According to her, the state to which India has reportedly fallen as a nation now is ignominious, and things have only reached this point largely due to silence from the majority of the populace.
“I believe that in 2023–2024, the bhayanak shaitan of the citizenship (tripod) will be forced upon us. Although the CAA’s regulations have not yet been written, counters have already been set up in 19 Indian states to expedite citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from five neighbouring countries, according to the 60-year-old social activist.
She continued, “In some ways, the efforts to implement the CAA are already underway without even passing the rules. “Citizenship is never determined based on such documentation in any nation on Earth. Not a single other nation.
Setalvad had recently spent 57 days in imprisonment after being accused of fabricating evidence related to the riots in Gujarat in 2002. Along with actor Badshah Moitra, academicians Ram Punyani and Ratan Khasnabis, and retired judge Asok Kumar Ganguly, she spoke. The panellists expressed concern and trepidation about the future of Indian democracy as a result of the current situation, which is weakening the Constitution’s fundamental principles.
The oldest active centre for Persian study in the nation is the Iran Society.
The National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens, the other two prongs of the citizenship trident, may not be far behind, according to Setalvad.
“Regarding the NPR, a notification has arrived stating that the update will start in January 2023. It is risky because, for the first time in the NPR, information on ancestors’ birth registrations is being sought, which has no place in the census, according to the speaker.
Setalvad described it as little short of crazy, drawing on her organization’s vast experience working in Assam as a result of the NRC exercise there.
“In Assam, 19 lakh persons are not included in the final NRC, and the Election Commission has designated another 2.2 lakh as foreigners and unsure voters. Therefore, Assam currently has 22 lakh persons without citizenship. Despite the fact that the law of the land contains provisions, you keep abusing the laws so they can be used against the people, she remarked.
Only 5.5 lakh of the 19 lakh people who were labelled as non-Indians are Muslims. Because their political project assumed that most of these people would be Muslims, this destroyed them (the saffron camp). They currently demand that the NRC be redone, said Setalvad.
The rights activist emphasised how 1.3 crore of Assam’s 3.3 crore residents were required to participate in the NRC operation, which cost the state exchequer Rs 1,700 crore and occupied the state apparatus for ten years. “Now that the NRC has been repeated, what is your political demand?”
Setalvad advised the populace to think about whether the Assam model might be applied nationally.
“Just consider the Assam example and the likelihood that it will be repeated across the nation. What kind of societal unrest, difficulties, and internal conflicts would that bring about? Everyone would begin to perceive others as their enemies out of a need to defend themselves. The poison of hatred can obliterate everything,” she warned.
“It is only being done with the intention of making certain groups of people the target, possibly even in order to maintain a massive labour pool that is prepared for industry. I’m not sure for sure. Construction is underway on 300-acre detention centres. The precise goal is not something that can be stated with clarity. But ahead of us, one can definitely see a scary mentality. We should be aware of this and sensitive to it, she said, adding that it was happening because the regime only wanted to use polarisation as a means of holding onto power by deflecting attention from the real problems, like the appalling state of healthcare and education, and facilitating the silent transfer of state resources to private players.
Setalvad spoke extensively about hate as a political, media, and state project, highlighting the importance of comprehending what occurred months before the first stone was thrown in a riot.
“There is this hate pyramid. Setalvad forewarned, “Prejudiced attitudes are the beginning, followed by prejudiced acts, discrimination, then violence, and finally genocide.
“If we are able to be vigilant from the beginning and take the required actions, wherever they may be, from complaints to authorities to protests. There are numerous options, but they come with risks. But despite the risks, are we prepared to take the necessary action and organise against this?” she questioned. These are good discussions, but we need to turn them into deeds, take action, and say in public places that we, too, are defenders of the Constitution of our country.
