Thread by @SikhProf

A brief reflection on one of the many complexities around India's discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act.

It can be easy for us on the outside to stake a place on the moral high ground and condemn the bill unequivocally. I have done so because this bill explicitly discriminates against a Muslim community that is already marginalized in modern India.

We must also recognize that there are suffering communities who would benefit from this bill. And that complicates things.

The Sikh communities of Pakistan and Afghanistan are a good case study. They have been persecuted heavily the past few years and many have had to contemplate leaving their homes to find safe haven for their families.

Here's an article from last year that looks at how Sikhs in Pakistan have been systematically targeted and murdered by violent extremists. It's horrific and heart-breaking.
trtworld.com/magazine/with-…

Here's another article from last year that discusses how the already dwindling Sikh population is contemplating leaving their homes in Afghanistan after yet another suicide bombing targeting their community.

reuters.com/article/us-afg…

India's Citizenship Amendment Bill would give these families much needed refuge from persecution. We can't fault these communities for wanting such relief -- or even accepting it. It's quite literally a matter of life and death.

We must recognize our position of privilege in being able to take the moral high ground with relatively little consequence. And we must also recognize the harsh realities that so many minorities are facing, not just in India but across South and Central Asia.

So why continue to stand against India's Citizenship Amendment Act? Because my Sikh faith teaches me that we must insist on justice for all of humanity, not just for ourselves and our own communities. The CAA discriminates against Muslims, and that's not acceptable.

We learn from Guru Tegh Bahadur that living by our principles of equal rights and justice might require extensive personal sacrifices. I fully understand that it may not be so easy when one's life is at stake, but I still aspire to stand by this principle — just as our Guru did.