Thread by @sharmasupriya

Unpacking the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Here is a #thread on @scroll_in's coverage of this hugely significant legislation that amounts to no less than a reset button on India as a secular republic.

We have an explainer to start with:

scroll.in/article/944852…

@scroll_in The Citizenship Amendment Bill explicitly excludes Muslims.

@sruthisagar explains why this exclusion cannot stand the test of equality under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.

scroll.in/article/945900…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar Modi government has justified the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the name of refugees fleeing religious persecution.

But what about the Rohingyas from Myanmar or Tamils from Sri Lanka?

@ShoaibDaniyal busts four myths.

scroll.in/article/946053…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal .@ShoaibDaniyal also takes a closer look at whether the Citizenship Amendment Bill even helps Hindu migrants from Bangladesh – the main group supposed to benefit.

The answer: No.

scroll.in/article/937968…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal The only real opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill has come from the North East, forcing the government to introduce "exemptions" for parts of the region.

Will these "exemptions" actually work on the ground?

@psychia90 spoke to experts.

scroll.in/article/946028…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 Watch @scroll_in reporters explain why the Citizenship Amendment Bill is dangerous.

@sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @p_semolina @psychia90

scroll.in/video/946191/w…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina Since the BJP is pushing the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the name of refugees, @p_semolina and @VijaytaL examined India's record on refugees.

Answer: It is arbitrary.

And the bill makes the arbitrariness worse.

scroll.in/article/946220…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL As Amit Shah defended the Citizenship Bill in Lok Sabha. @RohanV on the falsehood at the heart of it.

scroll.in/article/946292…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV The debate on the Citizenship Bill took us back to the Partition days. Here @ShoaibDaniyal examines the legacy of Nehru-Liaquat Pact

scroll.in/article/946454…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV Amit Shah would have you believe the Citizenship Bill is about refugees.

No, it is about a Hindu Rashtra, I wrote.

scroll.in/article/946418…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV The BJP put so much political capital on the Citizenship Bill, they cleared an Inner Line Permit for Manipur overnight!

@psychia90 reported on the reactions in the state

scroll.in/article/946339…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV While Parliament was debating the Citizenship Bill, Assam exploded in protests.

Here, in an excellent report from Guwahati, @psychia90 explains why this wasn't about nativism alone

scroll.in/article/946563…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV On the day of the protests, guess what the I&B ministry told TV news channels?

(Hint: it contains the government's fav word)

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@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV BJP leader claimed the amended Citizenship law would help five lakh Bengali Hindus left out of the NRC.

But they were not convinced. We are Indian citizens, they told @psychia90. We are not refugees.

scroll.in/article/946430…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV We spoke to Hindu Pakistani refugees in Delhi and Gujarat.

They welcomed the Citizenship Act but had a lot to say to @AarefaJohari and @VijaytaL about the tedious process.

scroll.in/article/946792…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV @AarefaJohari Five chief ministers from non-BJP ruled states said they won't implement the Citizenship Act.

But as @sruthisagar found, the Centre could leave them no role in the process – a new section has been inserted in the Act...

scroll.in/article/946753…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV @AarefaJohari Despite internet being shutdown in Assam, the protests continued.

Faultlines were being redrawn: many Muslims once targeted by Assamese nationalists were making common cause with them, @p_semolina reported

scroll.in/article/946677…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV @AarefaJohari And then came the police firing in Guwahati.

Eyewitnesses told @psychia90: “They kneeled down, took position and fired. Even as people retreated, they kept at it."

Assam ADG: “If a couple of bullet injuries can bring the situation to normalcy, it is ok."
scroll.in/article/946772…

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV @AarefaJohari These are just some of our stories over the last week.

We are a small team of reporters – just eight, including me.

Each of us wrote about the Citizenship Act.

And our splendid colleagues on the desk ran live blogs curating the news from all over.

@scroll_in @sruthisagar @ShoaibDaniyal @psychia90 @p_semolina @VijaytaL @RohanV @AarefaJohari India does not have many independent newsrooms.

The kind that will put everything into reporting the Citizenship Act.

Because it is IMPORTANT.

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