Joe Biden Disappointed With CAA and NRC



All of us have been hearing the name “Joe Biden” very frequently in news these days. Do you know why? So let me tell you that “Joe Biden” is the former Vice President of the United States of America and now the presumptive Democratic Nominee.

Mr. Biden served as the Vice President in Obama's administration during the Affordable Care Act, and the Health sector always remained his first priority. But why is he trending in India right now is the question. Well, his controversial views regarding NRC, CAA, and Rights for People of Kashmir were not liked by Hindu Americans.

A collective group of Hindu-Americans contacted the Biden campaign to express their displeasure over the language used for India and urged it to change its views on India. They also sought a similar policy paper on Hindu Americans. However, the Biden Campaign did not respond to the question back in this regard.


His Thought Regarding NRC-CAA


Joe Biden wants the Indian government to take the necessary steps to restore the rights of all Kashmiris and has expressed disappointment over the Citizenship Amendment Act as well as implementations of the National registrar of Citizen in Assam.

He thinks that these measures are not consistent with the country’s long tradition of secularism and with sustaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious democracy. It is said that Biden understands the pain Muslim-Americans feel towards what is happening in Muslim majority countries and countries with significant Muslim populations.

Also, the pain towards the policy paper that clubbed together Kashmir and Assam in India and the forced detention of a million Uyghur Muslims in Western China, and atrocities and discrimination against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

The Indian government should take all the necessary steps to restore the rights of all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as shutting or slowing down the internet, preventing peaceful protest, weakens democracy.

Joe Biden was disappointed by the measures taken by the Indian government with the implementation and aftermath of NRC in Assam and the passage of CAA into law.

On 5th August 2019, India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under 370 of the constitution and bifurcated it into two Union territories – Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. It was said that the special status provisions only gave rise to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. And it is asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 is its internal matter.

According to CAA, members of the  Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, Sikh, Hindu, and Christian communities who have come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan till 31st December 2014, following religious persecution they will get citizenship of India.

“Updation of the NRC in Assam is an entirely internal process carried out at the direction and supervision of the Supreme court,” said the Government of India.


Why His Views Matter?


Joe Biden views matter because he was the US Senator for decades and as the Vice President under the previous President, Barack Obama for 8 years and has been known as one of the best friends of India and Indian-Americans. He also played a key role in the passage of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Mr. Biden regularly hosted Diwali at his Vice Presidential residence and is well-connected with the Indian-Americans. Mr. Biden said, “he understands the issues impacting India, issues related to cross border terrorism and issues of Hindu minorities’ suffering in Kashmir.

However, Rishi Bhutada, a board member of the Hindu American Political Action Committee, Defending the CAA, said that CAA is a good faith effort by the government to alleviate the pains of approximately 30,000 persecuted religious minorities.

These religious minorities are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who continue to live in India and are deprived of their basic human rights because of a lack of citizenship.

Some people believe that Joe Biden made this comment to influence the Muslim community in America as he is going to contest for the US presidential election in November this year. And he needs the support of the Muslim-Americans in the US for a vote.

He thus feels pity for the minority Muslims in India and spoke about the rights of Kashmiris.


Written By – Akash Agrawal

Edited by - Daity Talukdar