KSU disagrees with Meghalaya HC on granting Indian citizenship without documents

Shillong, Dec 12 (IANS) The powerful Khasi Students' Union (KSU) on Wednesday "disagreed" with the Meghalaya High Court order to allow Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians, Khasis, Jaintias and Garos from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to become citizens without production of any document.

"The recent appeal by the Meghalaya High Court to the Prime Minister to grant instantaneous citizenship to the aforesaid groups once they seek refuge in India which the Union completely disagrees without taking into account all the aspects including the demographic structure of the north eastern states of India," KSU General Secretary Donald Thabah said.

Noting that KSU is not against any humanitarian venture by India, Thabah said "the humanitarian perspective of the microscopic indigenous communities of India's northeast should also be taken into account".

The student leader said it is known that there are approximately 14 million Hindus in Bangladesh.

"In north east, for example in Meghalaya, there are more than 1 million ethnic Khasis who are currently facing the wrath of unabated influx from migrants belonging to other communities. In the capital city of Shillong itself, the indigenous Khasi population constitutes not more than 50 percent compared to past statistics," Thabah said.

The KSU leader argued that if such a bill is passed or if immediate citizenship is granted to the said migrants then the indigenous communities of northeast India are bound to be wiped out by these migrants.

On December 10, Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen requested the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Law Minister and Members of the Parliament to bring a law to allow the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist, Parsis, Christians, Khasis, Jaintias and Garos who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to live in this country peacefully and with full dignity without making any cut-off year and be given citizenship without any question or production of any documents.

Sen noted that "Pakistan declared themselves as an Islamic country and India since was divided on the basis of religion should have also been declared as a Hindu country but it remained as a secular country."

However, Sen said that he was not against my "Muslim brothers and sisters" who are residing in India for generations and abiding Indian laws, they should also be allowed to live peacefully.

Requesting the government that a uniform law should be made for all Indian citizens and they are bound to abide by the law of the country and its Constitution, the high court said: "Anybody opposing the Indian laws and Constitution, they cannot be considered as citizens of the country. We must remember that first, we are Indians, then good human beings and thereafter comes the community we belong."