Citizenship Bill: Former IAS Officer Calls For Civil Disobedience Against Centre

Sashikanth Senthil, former IAS officer, wrote to Amit Shah, calling for a civil disobedience movement against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019 and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The CAB was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 9, Monday around midnight.

In the letter, that he also shared on Twitter, he said, “The passing of this bill in the Lok Sabha has left a deep scar in the belief of already marginalized people and along with the NRC is surely an attempt to profile Muslims and Adivasis akin to the Asiatic Registration Act in South Africa and the Nuremberg laws of Germany.”

Senthil further added, “After hitting deaf ears we have no option other than to start a satyagraha/ civil disobedience against this communal bill CAB and NRC.”

The Citizenship Amendment bill proposes to grant citizenship to those individuals who were “forced or compelled to seek shelter in India due to persecution on the ground of religion.”

The bill says that persecuted individuals of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh — who belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Jain and Christian community and have been living in India prior to December 31, 2014 — shall be granted Indian citizenship.

On NRC, the former IAS officer said that he shall face the consequences of not obeying the government’s directive on the NRC.

“I refuse to accept the process of enumeration in NRC by not submitting the requisite documents to prove my citizenship and is willing to accept the action taken by the Indian State for my disobedience. If the state chooses to declare me as a non-citizen I would also be happy to fill up the many detention Center’s that you are building all over the country,” Senthil said.

NRC and CAB need to be fought tooth and nail. What better way than the Gandhian satyagraha. The Government cannot force us to cooperate with the process. Let us stand up #CABNRCSatyagraha @naukarshah @kavita_krishnan @savukku @dineshswamy92 pic.twitter.com/eGZmDts4ca

— sashikanth senthil (@s_kanth) December 10, 2019

He referred to the passage of the CAB bill as the darkest hour in the history of modern India. And called the legislation “draconian law aimed at dehumanising people for political gains,” he added.

In the concluding paragraph, Sashikanth mentioned that as a former civil servant he would advise Shah to increase the capacity of the detention centres, as many Indians would fill it up before Shah succeeds in his agenda.

“In the coming days you would realise that this country is making up for people who would stand up for one another and would fight every attempt by any authority to divide us,” Senthil concluded.

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