During the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva, a woman by the name of Faiza Rifat, a Muslim woman from Jaipur, Rajasthan, supported the Indian government’s CAA. She claimed that it will help persecuted religious minorities seek asylum in India. Rifat said that the CAA is aimed at providing citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who had migrated from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan on or before December 31, 2014.
Delivering her speech, Rifat talked about the present-day oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and stressed the need for passing the CAA. She said that the Act provides a ray of hope for such people to come out of the violence and discrimination and get a safe refuge in India to lead a dignified life.
Rifat went on to explain about the role of CAA in the process of identifying the difference between refugees and immigrants in the country illegally. She claimed that this is important for the Indian government to properly address issues of migration and other vices, including drug trafficking, in some of the most sensitive borders.
As a legal document that seeks to offer protection to persons who are facing persecution in their home countries, the CAA seeks to offer citizenship to individuals who deserve it. At the same time discouraging the influx of the illegitimate immigrants.
They have caused debates on the CAA and its impact on India’s immigration policy and the country’s commitments to refugees. Although the Act has been criticized by different stakeholders in India and other parts of the world, Rifat’s support shows a view that focuses on the positive impacts of the Act on the persecuted groups who seek refuge in other countries.
