300 celebrities pen Open Letter opposing CAA, NRC

New Delhi: Over 300 artists, including filmmakers and veteran Bollywood actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Jaaved Jafferi, Nandita Das, Mira Nair among others have signed an open letter standing in solidarity with the students who have been protesting incessantly against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The amended Citizenship Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a "threat" to the soul of India, the signatories said in a note published on Indian Cultural Forum on January 13.

"We stand in solidarity with the students and others who are protesting and speaking out against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and against the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

We salute their collective cry for upholding the principles of the Constitution of India, with its promise of a plural and diverse society.

"We are aware that we have not always lived up to that promise, and many of us have too often remained silent in the face of injustice.

The gravity of this moment demands that each of us stand for our principles," the statement read.

Writers Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, actors Ratna Patak Shah, Jaaved Jafferi, Nandita Das, Lillete Dubey, sociologist Ashis Nandy, activists Sohail Hashmi and Shabnam Hashmi were also among the signatories.

"The policies and actions of the present government, passed quickly through parliament and without opportunity for public dissent or open discussion, are antithetical to the principle of a secular, inclusive nation.

"The soul of the nation is threatened. The livelihoods and statehoods of millions of our fellow Indians are at stake. Under the NRC, anyone unable to produce documentation (which, in many cases, does not exist) to prove their ancestry may be rendered stateless.

Those deemed 'illegal' through the NRC may be eligible for citizenship under the CAA, unless they are Muslim," the statement further read.

They questioned why the minorities from neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, China and Myanmar have been excluded from the CAA. "Is it because the ruling powers in these latter countries are not Muslim?

It appears that the legislation believes that only Muslim governments can be perpetrators of religious persecution. Why exclude the most persecuted minorities in the region, the Rohingya of Myanmar or the Uighurs of China?

This legislation only acknowledges Muslim perpetrators, never Muslim victims. The aim is transparent: Muslims are the unwelcome Other," they added.