Tensions running high in india are the Prime MinisterNarendra Modis controversial citizenship lol violence between hindus and muslims has left many dead can the Indian Government keep control of the situation and what it consider withdrawing the act this is inside story. Hello welcome to the program im Adrian Finnegan thousands of indians have been protesting for months now against a controversial law that they say discriminates against muslims but the tension around the citizenship amendment tact has taken a dangerous to the capital new delhi has seen days of violence between the communities some of the worst in decades hindu crowds have been accused of attacking muslims on the streets dozens of people were killed in 3 days of confrontations that began on monday Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has called for calm his government has been under pressure since it passed the law that provides citizenship to immigrants from neighboring countries but excludes muslims modis critics accuse them of taking a set of anti muslim measures of steering the country towards becoming a nationalist hindu state al jazeera as elizabeth for autumn has been following events she reports now from new delhi. There was a massive security presence across the northeast and after the violence of the past 4 days at least 20 people have been killed and more than 200. 00 injured and one of the worst affected areas is under curfew with no one allowed to leave their homes now the Delhi High Court has ordered police to file a complaint against the politician from the Prime Minister in the. Party who on sunday incisive supporters those who support the citizenship law to attack protesters those who are against the citizenship law the Delhi High Court said that it will not allow a repeat of the 1984 riots when thousands of sikhs were killed what were seeing in the indian capital is some of the worst violence here since 1904 now promise to move he has tweeted for the 1st time about whats been happening hes appealing for calm but the aam aadmi or Common Man Party thats in power and is blaming the b j p for the violence because what happened on sunday was not the 1st time that one of the b j ps members called for violence against protesters aadmi is also calling for the army to be deployed and for a curfew to be enforced in all the violence affected areas the countrys Main Opposition Congress party is calling for the interior ministers resignation thats who is in charge of security in delhi even despite all of this criticism and the events of the past 4 days members of the b j p are refusing to conduct their colleagues. Lets explore this further with our guests today from new delhi we are joined by. An absence of the Supreme Court of india a human rights lawyer from paris with archie ganguli who is south asia director of Human Rights Watch and from london were joined by shruti capella whos an indian his story. And lecturer in history at the university of cambridge welcome to you or colonel randy lets start with you just how dangerous is the Current Situation given the current state of the economy and unemployment running relatively high in the northern suburbs of new delhi does this have the potential to explode i think the time for gentian is all photo has exploded. When you have a lot of the lead by legislators of the ruling actually mouthing slogans like. Goalie martin was i dont know that means you know translated thats sure you know sure and an exclusive right and thats echoing something that was said by Union Minister a Central Government minister. And that was 2 weeks ago and nor criminal complaint has been registered by the police which means that theres no accountability nobodys been arrested and you know that moms now mousing the slogans and then you actually have debts and violence and it will shoot right so i dont think its potentially any more i think this is our own group do not look to find a friend and i think thats a problem clearly. Did the Delhi High Court a bench of the Delhi High Court pierce directions regarding the ambulance getting through because they wont even letting ambulances the last one to let a ambulances get through it is also true that the violence has risen to such a degree that constable was cute and people have also be cute but let us be clear that there is a difference when you look at steves accountability and. And criminal accountability of those who are not just right because there is our differential that what were seeing is that. You dont have there is something of an absence of rule of law ok and thats something that is pretty. Prejudiced modi has called for calm how much responsibility does he bear for whats happening right now. Quite a bit unfortunately the thing is that. This is not just just one thing the b. G. P. Has been in power words this is their 2nd term in power and even earlier weve seen provocations against muslims because the b d please core ideology is that of hindu nationalism and therefore what happens is that its supporters tend to be triumphalist when they win elections and feel that they have political protection for a number of violent actions so this is you know before before this there was this though there was a spate of what was being called lynchings in india which was a witch or a cattle traders were being stopped in the streets and being killed so 50 of those died then came this law now this law itself is not the problem the problem is is that its coupled with what is going to be. Citizenship verification process which can in which will in effect could exclude muslims now this is a this is a legitimate concern citizenship is a legitimate concern and one that has to be just addressed with great responsibility now the chap the Prime Minister said that the process is not really been put in motion however the his whole minister has said otherwise there is a deep amount of under arrest theyve been peaceful protests for quite some time and in an effort to discredit the peaceful protests for a long time theres been this repeated provocation against peaceful protestors call describing describing them as at the national and then of course as as governor said earlier this this instigation of violence against these protesters so its been a its been an escalating process and wondered that that any responsible administration should have stopped a long time ago. Does this mark the end of the the protest movement this these protests that have been going on now for months was was that what this is all about and can we link it in any way to electoral losses for the b j p in new delhi. Yes i mean the immediate context is that the b. G. P. Did not win the local provincial election but i want to come back a little bit on the question of violence and i actually suggest say that violence has been a historical mode of mobilization for the b. G. P. The last time delhi saw rioting was in 184 against the sikhs at that time the b. G. P. Had to elected m. P. s in Indias Parliament a little over a decade later on the back of violent mobilization for the does a for the making of the ram temple in with a british saw as it were the b j p come to power for the 1st time in indias history so this violence base actually a huge dividends electorally for for the for the b. G. P. So that having said that i think this is this is also meant to message and send out a very strong message that the the protests which have been by and large peaceful and across the country should not be escalated into a mass of a Disobedience Movement because this is not simply muslims or muslim women who are protesting but a Large Coalition social coalition has come out whether its lower caste women students and other members of Civil Society who feel its because much is at stake it is actually the basic compact between the citizen and the state that has been changed it is one thing for electoral majorities to come and go for people to choose in the nationalist government one moment and another moment a left party or Something Else but it is quite another when you are changing the entire basics to a legal structure of citizenship in india and that is why we are seeing these protests taking place across the country. Modi says that he doesnt want to remote india into a hindu nation. But thats what people suspect here is that he wants to take the country away from its its founding principles its secular. I dont think theres any doubt that the wish to pull india be. If you look at the problem with the rent rent act what it does is that it starts to select citizens on the basis of religion and saw the problem is with the abstract well not so abstract but the problem is with the notion of who can be a citizen and who got and then and saying the muslims got to be so that others can you see it so thats just explicitly and its not just brutal because if you didnt you know. From other illicit but if you look at the. Process it is that. Have been beat into the law by the last india go by the last leg up but 2003 the National Registration of citizenship process has in a sense already begun because its already in the law you see and it really its all sort to in the National Population register thats just a bit like a census but now more because theyre going to ask questions that we designate some citizens as doubtful that and that of course is something that is then it has to go somewhere is what somebody is about. And thats when i see a National Institution of citizens process that will then begin now the trouble is that the burden of proof is on the citizen to prove that she is a citizen rather than the other we ran out and. Passports have found to be insufficient proof in the state of a stand where this process has already begun with a different history albeit but it is a process that has already begun and passports have been rules. Which in what is a land records all sorts of documents even taken together been found to be insufficient for citizenship so people are very very worried and muslims in particular very very worried because. You can do is are being to load and in my opinion wrongly that even if they dont have the documents they will somehow for within the citizenship Amendment Act which it has said will provide a route to citizenship because it includes hindus and so you can apply for citizenship under that unfortunately it is completely incorrect because. It allows people who have been in the country rational 1014 strong but laddish im gonna stand and back. To stay on that and get enough abstract now of course the thing is that if you already have to be and youve said that youre in india that is under the national under the n. R. C. Process and then you walk out and you see that or not actually i am a bangladeshi and yes im a hindu but im now you know now im saying i. Saw you know please give me citizenship under the new act thats not credible and how people even good prove that they were you know it was a little weird was that we could be right on the ball thing is a real mess and i think its something that every Single Person should worry amber because at the moment i think a lot of your club an hour or so but its not it is about every single citizen ok every single citizen will have to keep their citizenship and even earl country that is hugely document well and let us remember that women. Men. And balanced so called look at us will have she would documents then. Because people who would have tried to be equal with your documents and the list goes on ok. Tragic yes minutemen actually. Expand on that and that for me the government says that this law seeks to protect religious minorities who are fleeing religious persecution in their home countries and thats pretty laudable isnt it so why has it as it turned into this monster has it become so divisive. Well as i said earlier this see a the citizenship Amendment Act is as is something that that is discriminatory because it excludes people of a particular religion it also excludes people from anyone but the 3 neighboring countries which in itself just seems like an ordered law because if if india were were to be a nation that wants to protect the rights of persecuted minorities and others seeking asylum in india then what is the 1st to push should do is sign that if it is convention follow the u. N. Rules but what is happening here is by by suggesting that that only hindus sikhs Christians Parsis gens and put this in from from bangladesh of ghana stan or pakistan are eligible for for for fast tracked Citizenship Rights what it immediately does is or is does that or hinder a big crisis right now there are there are there are there are there are a 1000000 in wonder this right now there are 40000. 00 or so in india now why would this particular group who have faced one of the biggest persecution in recent history be excluded so it then it immediately suggests that there is there is a division on the basis of religion and that violates the constitution i mean the Indian Constitution does not discriminate on the basis of religion so its its a its a complicated process but in itself the sea is still not impacting an indian but as as a governor i was explaining earlier combined with all the other other other plans that are that are better Going Forward in what what the government has has repeatedly said is an effort to to identify an illegal immigrant in india. It its what is going to desire to skills theres going to be theres going to be a tremendous amounts of of Rights Violations that but that will ensue you there will be corruption. There would be threats and it is something that that needs process and our rights respecting a process and not one that is bigoted now the reason that people are protesting and again its not just muslims that are protesting this is because indias are arguing on the on the very idea of india right shruti. The government doesnt seem to be listening at the moment despite the fact that these protests have been going on for months now can you see a situation in the in the in which the government would. Perhaps withdraw or amend this law. I think he has been committed to this project that is in the manifesto and it has come on the close a close heels of 2 other major changes which is of course the special status of the sheer which was abrogated and the Supreme Courts a recognition of the hindu temple in the place of the 16th century mosque all this has happened within a very short period of the 1st few months of modis 2nd term so the only way i mean in that sense. The government in the in the of forces are going to keep on it theyre going to double down on it the interesting thing is a close to 10 provincial governments have said that they are not going to sign on theyre not going to implement the n. P. R. Which is a National Population register now this is an unprecedented situation in india because of course you have as it were this is a union matter it is a matter for the Central Government but if you have a large number of states not playing ball with you im not sure how this will how this will actually pan out quite apart from the fact that it will empower the already very very strong state in india through this documentation process that has just been outlined by the 2 other speakers here so i think the only way this is going to actually be undone is actually through a political struggle which is why were seeing these protests which is why this is a high stake is you which is precisely why the clashes have become violent as i said earlier to actually to quote a major civil disobedience against this act coming into coming into existence ok can occur in a another. Coincidence here perhaps other nerve another issue to do with timing these protests as you say have been going on for months and been largely peaceful and yet President Trump visits india and in the same week we see this violence in the northern suburbs of new delhi a is there a link there. I dont think so but i mean there was you had its been going on for a while but just not on the scheme there was a shooter. Pointing his gun at protesters when you could see on camera. For lengths of Police Personnel will find him. Leaning on their sticks and strolling up to him to dig through gano week. And not even before he fired it and injured. One of the protesters weve had situations before that when on video you had. People from the if he had other people the movie being. The student wing of b. G. P. Which is really by actually going into jail and you which is that much of my Old University remember the b 2 b. But otherwise academic a very good and thats been one of the centers of protests ok against the ruling party and the police did nothing so the thing is that you know this isnt going on or why ok all right like i think its ok sorry to cut you off for a minute i mean to the police theyve been complicit in this violence. And if so why. Im afraid that really is the most concerning part of all of this and that is the sort of the undermining of institutions the breakdown of public of bureaucracy and so on but because what weve seen repeatedly is that the police have not acted properly this this this even this particular phase of the violence which is this last 72 hours where you know not over 20 people have been killed this was a Proper Police force would have contained this well its a long time ago which does suggest and as current as it mentioned earlier it does suggest and also because of of previous experiences of clearly partisan behavior of the delhi police which has been targeted has been the targeting of the government protesters while in acting in favor of the progovernment protesters it has the actions of. Any any government critic can be accused of sedition or any other law while rick stream really insightful. But speeches by by government supporters have not been punished it has taken a court to say that the that people that cases should be lodged against people who have been open openly inciting communal hate and violence and therefore that this this sort of behavior where the where the where the political ideology seems to be impacting the police or the police is under pressure to not act in the way that it should because as an impartial no enforcement body is really really concerned or it. Should. Trial it is just something about trump you can we go about jennas laterally to ask your question ok but actually want to say that i just yes this is the the International Context is somehow giving more the also the context to to do what he wishes to do so theres been very little to no censure on what has happened in india which is the Worlds Largest democracy so i just wanted to point that out ok people were expecting. Something of that sort but that didnt come yeah all right was it were going to are sorry just over a minute left this violence weve seen this week has disturbing echoes of the violence from 2002 in in gujarat states of course modi was was leader of that state delhi itself no stranger to into communal violence in the past are we seeing the beginning of a return to the bad days well i mean i would say so because you know this i think is what has turned violent this these protest movements have now and the state the police has been historically complicit with lots of rioting whether it was 2002 or 94. 00 or even the early ninetys so that is not the difference the difference is what is now the government this is the government with an incredible amount of majority a brutal majority in parliament where is the resistance going to come from it is going on to the streets and therefore india is poised in a way in a kind of violent protest against what is what is happening so im afraid im not going to say theres a dock days or like todays but these are difficult days for india because its a major foundations are being redone and remade and people are up in arms about it ok there we must leave it many thanks indeed colonel nandi i mean actually ganguly and shruti capella as always thank you for watching dont forget you can see the program again at any time just by going to the website at aljazeera dot com for further discussion on this issue join us and our Facebook Page you find that at facebook dot com forward slash a. 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How can they tell this is the news on live from doha coming up in the next 60 minutes a major turning point in the coronavirus outbreak with more new cases outside china than with then for the 1st time. The outbreak has now reached latin America Brazil has reported its 1st infection. Pleading for peace indias capital remains on edge after 3 days of rioting over a controversial citizenship the war thats killed 22. 00 people. And they are in jail in london with the top stories for