CAA, NRC are not against Indian Muslims: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said that the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and the NRC (National Register of Citizens) are not against Indian citizens, and hence the Indian Muslims have nothing to worry about these two documents.

Releasing a book – Citizenship Debate over NRC and CAA – written by Prof Nonigopal Mahanta at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra here on Wednesday, the RSS chief said, "We still respect the assurances for the security of minorities in India given under the Nehru-Liaquat Pact. However, a section is out to add communal colours to the NRC and the CAA for political mileage. We need to remain alert against any such design. We need to choose the right way for the well-being of our future generations.

"The NRC and the CAA are products of much thought. Those who support the NRC and the CAA have reasons behind them. Also, those who oppose these two documents have thought behind them. We need to opt for the right reasons.

"As usual, a section may court controversy on this book as well. The facts and information in this book are correct. I hope this book will help people get their misconceptions on the NRC and the CAA, if any, wiped out.

"There are people who want Indian citizenship but don't want to do the duties of Indian citizens. The core of the problems lies there. India has people speaking diverse languages and preaching religions. That is why India lays stress on assimilation. In India, people respect each other's languages and religions. However, when a section of people wants to dominate the other by giving their language and religion more priority than that of others, the problem arises.

"Migration has been an age-old practice. However, when such migration induces a threat among the indigenous population for their very existence, the problems start to creep in. And Assam is a victim of such a problem.

"Since 1930 the Muslims have been making attempts to raise their population. Their objective was to make India a Muslim-dominated country. However, that didn't materialize with the creation of Pakistan with a portion of India. Pakistan got parts of Assam, Bengal and Punjab under its territory. Now their game plan is to take the remaining areas of Assam, Bengal and Punjab.

"We give shelter to people who fled their countries for religious persecution. This situation necessitates a document like NRC to identify the citizens of a State. When one talks of the NRC and the CAA some people work overtime not to let the inner truths of these two documents come to the fore. Such people want to keep everything on the NRC and the CAA cluttered.

"We need to make strides with the mindset of assimilation that got ingrained in our around 4,000-years-old culture. Assimilation can cure all ails, or else a section will continue to derive political mileage."

Speaking on that occasion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We need to understand why there is so much resistance to the CAA and the NRC. There is a vast difference between the anti-CAA agitation in Delhi or Chennai and that in Assam. In Delhi and Chennai, the agitation is for the citizenship of Muslims as well, besides the Hindus. However, the anti-CAA movement in Assam is for no citizenship to any foreigner – neither Hindus nor Muslims. The anti-CAA leaders of Assam have the notion that Indian citizenship to Hindu Bengalis will be a threat to the Assamese language and culture. Some Left and liberal intellectuals campaigned that lakhs of Bengali Hindus would enter Assam from Bangladesh for Indian citizenship. However, the very threat to Assam is the unholy Congress-AIUDF nexus. Had they won the last Assembly election in the State, they would have devoured Assam. When we talk of Indian culture and civilization, they label us communal. However, when they decry against the government closing Madrassas, nobody terms them communal. A section of people is vocal against the two-child norm we have brought in. However, there was no hue and cry in 1975 when Indira Gandhi popularized a slogan on the two-child norm in the entire nation.

"I was a supporter of the CAA and will continue to remain so. We want to protect the identity of Assam with this Act."

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