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India Passes Contentious Citizenship Bill

Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI - India has passed a contentious citizenship bill that
   critics have slammed as unconstitutional and discriminatory because it
   excludes Muslims from a path to nationality that will be granted to
   religious minorities from three neighboring countries.

   Violent protests have flared in the country's northeast, which
   staunchly opposes the bill due to fears it will grant citizenship to
   tens of thousands of Hindu illegal immigrants living in their region.

   It is the first time the country has introduced religion as a criterion
   for citizenship. It makes six religious groups -- Hindus, Sikhs,
   Christians, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists -- who fled religious
   persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before 2015,
   eligible to become Indian nationals.

   The upper house of Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill on
   Wednesday with 125 voting in its favor and 105 opposing it. It already
   has been passed by the lower house and will become law once the
   president signs it.

   In a tweet after the bill was passed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
   called it "a landmark day for India and our nation's ethos of
   compassion and brotherhood."

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