TCN News
Interfaith Coalition for Peace wrote a letter to the home minister Amit Shah demanding complete rollback of CAA. ICP also sought an appointment with home minister Amit Shah to discuss the concerns of people about CAA, NPR, and NRC. TCN has a copy of the letter sent to the home minister today. In this letter, the interfaith coalition for peace gave strong reasons why CAA must be repealed. We would like to put it on record for our readers so that they may know what concerns have been put before the home minister.
We are publishing the letter below.
Respected Home Minister Sri Amit Shah Ji,
We, at Interfaith Coalition for Peace ([email protected]) are grateful to you for saying on February 13, 2020, at Times Now Summit that you are open to anybody approaching you for discussion on merits regarding CAA and that your office should be approached for an appointment which will be fixed within three days. We are willing to come over for discussion. We would request you to kindly direct your office to inform us of the date and time.
- In the meanwhile, we take this opportunity to apprise you of our evaluation of the CAA.
- In our well-considered yet dispassionate view, the CAA violates (a) not only Articles 14, 25, 26, 27 and 51 of the Constitution of India but also (b) Articles 1, 2, 6, 7, 14, 15, 22 and 28 of the UNO’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and (c) Article 13 of the New York Declaration on Refugees & Migrants, 2016 which was attended and endorsed by India’s MoS External Affairs.
- Thus, the CAA is unjustifiably selective in providing largesse to favored citizens of only three countries and ignores similarly placed citizens of many other neighboring countries with similar characteristics. Thus, CAA places parochial interests on top of and superseding the general interests of humanity. The detailed note is appended for your kind perusal.
- Besides, in an unprecedented move there are ongoing protracted countrywide & worldwide protests against CAA, many state assemblies have passed resolutions, and many international organizations have spoken against it.
- Therefore, we earnestly request you and our Government of India to kindly (a) either repeal the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 or, alternatively, (b) delete the words “belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community” from the Provisos below Sections 2 and 6 in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.
Looking forward with warm regards
Yours sincerely,
Interfaith Coalition for Peace www.icpindia.org
(I) CAA violates the following Articles of the Constitution of India:
- Equality before law
The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
- Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion:
(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.
- Freedom to manage religious affairs:
Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right-
(a) To establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;
(b) To manage its own affairs in matters of religion;
(c) To own and acquire movable and immovable property; and
(d) To administer such property in accordance with law.
- Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion
No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specifically appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination.
39A. The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity.
- Promotion of international peace and security
The State shall endeavor to (a) promote international peace and security; (b) maintain just and honorable relations between nations; (c) foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another; and (d) encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
(II) CAA violates the following Articles of the UNO’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 1:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
No distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 14
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
(III) CAA violates the following international covenant:
UN’s New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants, 2016 endorsed by India’s MoS External Affairs.
Para 13. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. We recall that our obligations under international law prohibit discrimination of any kind on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or another status.