DMK before the Supreme Court: CAA undermines India’s secular foundation, against Tamils.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was challenged in court by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the government-in-exile in Tamil Nadu, who claimed it was ‘arbitary’ because it only applied to Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The party said that the CAA is against the Tamil Nadu race since it does not include Tamil refugees within the scope of the statute.

 

‘CAA, 2019, is arbitrary as it relates to only three countries, viz. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, and pertains to only six religions, viz. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities, and expressly excludes Muslim religion,’ the DMK argued in a petition to the Supreme Court challenging the CAA.

 

It said that by excluding Islam and practising religious discrimination, the CAA undermines the fundamental principles of secularism. Even when religious minorities are taken into consideration, the argument continued, ‘It maintains such Tamils of Indian heritage who are currently residing in India as refugees after escaping from Sri Lanka due to persecution.’

 

The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution opposing the CAA in September 2021. The resolution was proposed by CM MK Stalin, who claimed the law violates the nation’s secular constitutional principles and would be bad for religious harmony. In 2020, the DMK and its allies also started a signature drive against the CAA with the goal of collecting one crore signatures.

 

The CAA, which was approved by the Parliament in December 2019, enables Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian minorities living in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to apply for Indian citizenship in order to flee persecution at home. People from these communities who immigrated to India before to December 31, 2014, will not be classified as illegal immigrants under the Act but rather will be granted Indian citizenship instead.

 

In a previous statement, Stalin said that his party would keep pressing the union government to repeal the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act and grant citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamils residing in Indian refugee camps.