Artists, writers against citizenship bill

The latest Citizenship Bill has created quite a stir across the country. The bill was introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and later cleared by Lok Sabha after hours of debate. The bill promises citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from three neighbouring countries. Over 600 artists, ex-judges and writers have come forward and urged the central government to withdraw the bill. They called the latest bill divisive, discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The beginning of satyagraha against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, and all-India NRC. We need not fear anything. By standing up against this communally motivated proposed legislation, we are carrying forward the finest legacy of our national freedom struggle- Umar Khalid, Activist.

Some of the prominent names includes Aparna Das, Nandita Das, Arundhati Roy, Wajahat Habibullah, Yogendra Yadav and Anand Patwardhan. In the open letter, they have mentioned that the citizenship bill and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will bring a lot of suffering to the people. Hence, it is the responsibility of the government to bring it down at the earliest.

The letter further states that the bill damages the nature of Indian republic. The government has not yet responded to the letter. “Tomorrow the Citizenship Amendment Bill comes up in Rajya Sabha. Please, members of the house, even if you can’t block the passage of bill, put up a fight, ask tough questions, shred apart the government’s devious logic. Show the country there is an Opposition”, tweeted journalist Supriya Sharma.

Watch in Sign Language