Amidst violent protests happening across the country in opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA), the Hindu and Muslim communities in Jammu came together to extend their support to the Act and appealed for Hindu-Muslim brotherhood in the country.
“The Citizenship Amendment Act is not anti-Muslim and it does not concern the residents of India. It concerns foreigners, not Indians,” the two communities jointly issued a statement. They also questioned former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that if he was going to bring the Citizenship Amendment Act in his tenure, then why is his party vehemently opposing it now.
In an allusive remark to the political parties who are fuelling unrest in the name of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, members of the Hindu community in Jammu put forth rhetorical questions- Who are vandalising the vehicles after namaz prayers? Who is instigating people against the Act by holding the tri-colour flag in their hands? Without explicitly mentioning any single political parties, the Hindu community in Jammu alleged that some politicians gain benefits in keeping the pot of the CAB boiling through their inflammatory speeches. It further said that the Hindus and the Muslims in the country should remain united and not tricked by such opportunist politicians.
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Shehzad, one of the members of the Muslim community said that the brotherhood between the followers of Hinduism and Islam in India should prevail. Another participant, Farooq allayed the lingering fear among Muslims saying that there is no need for the citizens of India to worry as Citizenship Amendment Act does not concern Indians but is for the foreigners seeking refuge in India. He also exhorted Hindus and Muslims to shun violence and live peacefully with other each other.
The passage of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 has touched off violent protests across the country as ‘protestors’ indulged in blatant acts of arson, vandalism and stone-pelting. Several reports had underscored that the protests were not spontaneous acts of defiance but carefully engineered demonstrations aimed to disrupt the prevailing peace in the country. Interestingly, most of these protests took place in left-leaning universities such as Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia University.
