Indian Muslims brandish natl. flag, say their protest not anti-India

Indian Muslims protesting against the country’s recent citizenship law, which they consider discriminatory, have been carrying national flags and copies of the constitution, stressing that their protest rallies are against the biased law, not India.

With more than 20 people killed over the past days, Muslim opponents of a new Indian citizenship law and a plan for the establishment of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have kept up protesting against the government measures while carrying the national flag to prevent supporters of the Hindu nationalist government from painting them as anti-India.

In the southern city of Hyderabad, Muslims sang national songs at the weekend, read out sections of the constitution and carried pictures of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar, who led the drafting of the constitution.

“This tricolour is our symbol against fascism,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, a lawmaker who heads a Muslim party. He was referring to India's saffron, white and green flag.

Protest organizers say displays of patriotism help dispel the notion that the demonstrations only concern the Muslims.

In the city of Bengaluru, it was Hindus, in their thousands, who came together in protest against the measures.

“Making this a Muslim protest just gives another stick to the government to delegitimize the movement,” Reuters quoted law student and protest organizer Hamza Tariq as saying.

In a column on Saturday, editor and political commentator Shekhar Gupta said the protests had led to what he called the “rise of a new Indian Muslim... Not afraid to look Muslim, and not shy of flaunting her nationalism.”

The new citizenship law gives non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who fled to India before 2015 a pathway to citizenship. It does not apply to Muslims.

The passing of the bill on December 11 triggered widespread demonstrations in the eastern state of Assam. Protesters feared it would convert thousands of illegal migrants from neighboring Muslim-majority Bangladesh into legal residents.

In address to Hindu supporters, India’s Modi says citizenship law ‘not anti-Muslim’

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the contentious citizenship law that has sparked angry protests across the country is not discriminatory against Muslims.

Elsewhere in India, protesters say the citizenship law will be followed by the NRC, which they fear is designed by the Hindu-nationalist government to expel Muslims who do not have sufficient citizenship documentation.

The government refutes such allegations. New Delhi says it protects all citizens equally.

The demonstrations across India are the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra since he first came to power in 2014. 

Religious minorities and liberals are growing increasingly uneasy with Modi's Hindu agenda, which appears to have gained emphasis since his re-election in May.

In November, India's Supreme Court handed Hindu groups the control of a contested site where a 16th-century mosque was razed by Hindu zealots in 1992, paving the way for the construction of a temple there.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk