On 3rd February, hundreds of South Asians living in Seattle-area stood in support of the passage of Seattle City Council Resolution 31926 that opposes India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The new resolution was introduced by Council Member Kshama Sawant, who expressed City Council’s solidarity with Seattle’s South Asian community regardless of their caste and religion.
According to Firstpost, Javed Sikander, spokesperson for the Seattle chapter of the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) said,
We welcome the Seattle City Council’s resolution denouncing the divisive and draconian CAA and NRC. These acts are unconstitutional and designed to disenfranchise several million Muslim, Dalits and other minorities in order to create a fascist state.
With this resolution, Seattle City Council became the first legislative body in the United States to take a stance on India’s NRC and CAA. The CAA imposes a religious criterion to fast-track Indian citizenship to all those immigrants who belong to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities.
When paired with the NRC, the act could lead to millions of Indians being stripped of their rights and citizenship.
Residents of Seattle recognise that international condemnation will apply pressure on the Indian government to account for the discrimination and violence perpetuated by the NRC and CAA.