Nation-wide general strike launched against Modi’s BJP government & new anti-Muslim law
Students participate in protests against Modi’s BJP government. (Daily Sabbah/Google Images)
Since early December, millions of students and activists took to the streets of major Indian cities to protest against a new law proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which they argue is discriminatory against Muslims.
According to NewsClick India, around 250 million workers went on strike yesterday in India, the largest such strike in the country's history. The strike was called by 10 central trade unions and a number of workers' organisations.
Across the country, workers are taking out marches against the economic policies of the Modi government. Some of the key issues are the soaring unemployment, the economic crisis, the government's blatant bid to weaken labour laws and the disinvestment of PSUs across the country. Workers are also protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) fastracks Indian citizenship for migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The act excludes Muslims. It was meant for people escaping persecution for their religion in the three Muslim-majority countries. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed the bill in early December.
Millions have gathered in the past few weeks to express their anger over the bill, which they say violates the secular constitution of India. Led mostly by Muslims, the protest was the largest seen in decades and possibly modern Indian history, according to the Washington Post.
As seen below, over one million Muslims and Hindus alike took to the streets in Hyderabad, a major city in Southern India.
At least 23 people died in recent clashes between protesters and police. Officers attacked students in universities Muslim homes, armed with batons and tear gas.
In response to the backlash, police put a ban on assembling on the streets. Officers fired ammunition amidst protests meant to be peaceful. Police detained 6000 protesters and arrested 1,000 in the state Uttar Pradesh alone, according to Al Jazeera. The government revoked internet access in some parts of the South Asian country.
Since Narendra Modi’s re-election as prime minister last May, the BJP has become increasingly hostile towards Muslims.
"There is terror over there... people in Muslim colonies are staying up all night to guard their houses. They are terrified of a police raid or a communal attack," said activist Kavita Krishnan at a news conference in New Delhi.
In the southern state of Uttar Pradesh, police brutally attacked and vandalized a Muslim home in efforts to threaten residents who allegedly participated in protests against the bill. Pictures reveal furniture that’s been destroyed and belonging thrown everywhere.
(Kavita Krishnan/METRO UK)
(Kavita Krishnan/METRO UK)
The chaos sparked tensions in Canada’s Indian community. On Dec. 20, hundreds of Indian-Canadians gathered in Toronto to express their support for the protesters.
The political division has spread from India to Canada’s immigrant community through social media, Nasser Khan told CBC. Khan is an Indian-born immigrant.
Many like Khan are familiar with the videos showcasing the screaming protesters, signs filling the street, and police officers struggling to contain them. The videos have been shared over and over in WhatsApp group chats connecting immigrants like Khan with their relatives back home.
Several Indian states refused to comply with the new law. Pinarayi Vijayan, chief minister of the state of Kerala, wrote to 11 other chief ministers in a call to rebel against the CAA.
But despite nation-wide demands spreading across the globe, the BJP shows no signs of retracting the bill. Modi even suggested that the movement was provoked by the Congress Party, the BJP’s main political opposition.
With Muslims at the forefront of the protests, other religious groups have joined to protect the secular foundation on which the world’s largest democracy was built upon.
“It is not a fight only for Muslims,” Mohammad Hamza, 18, told the Washington Post. “It is a fight to save our country. Modi is trying to break us.”