Over 1,000 students from IIMs, IITs and other institutes have issued a statement against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, saying it is "inconsistent with the cherished values of equality under law and secularism" and institutionalises preferential treatment based on religion.
The statement was the initiative of a few IIM-Ahmedabad students which was endorsed by a large number of students from various institutes joined hands.
"The Act is discriminatory and violative of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. It is inconsistent with the cherished values of equality under law and secularism. It institutionalises preferential treatment based on religion which is in direct conflict with the inclusive spirit on which our nation was formed," the statement signed by at least 1,053 people said.
It said the Act is inconsistent with India’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the international law principle of non-refoulement of refugees, irrespective of caste, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or political ideology.
"The Act, in its current form, is also likely to harm the interests of the indigenous people of India’s Northeast. India, as a signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has a responsibility to protect the land, cultural and linguistic rights of the indigenous people. We advocate a comprehensive asylum law while protecting the legitimate interests of the indigenous people," they added.
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