January 14, 2020
China fears fallout from India’s citizenship law in Muslim Xinjiang
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
The adoption of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which excludes citizenship for Muslim migrants who had illegally entered India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before December 2014, is fuelling anxiety in China, The Hindu reported Tuesday.
An un-named Chinese official told The Hindu that Beijing apprehends that the law, if it alienates Muslims in India, could have repercussions in volatile Muslim Xinjiang province which faced separatist violence.
“We fear that if possible Muslim alienation triggered by India’s new Act spreads, it could channel into international terrorism and eventually bolter separatism in Xinjiang,” the official said.
East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM)
China has blamed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) — a group of mainly Muslims of ethnic Uyghur descent, for seeking an independent “East Turkestan” in Xinjiang.
The U.S. treasury department listed ETIM as a terrorist organization in 2002. On December 8, 2002, the United Nations added the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) to its list of terrorists and terrorist supporters.
The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement is an organization that reportedly includes components in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang Province of China.
In July 2016, Britain listed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist organization. The Home Office said the group was based in tribal regions of Pakistan, had claimed responsibility for attacks in China, “maintained an active and visible presence in the Syrian war” and had detailed its “jihad against the Chinese authorities”.
Strategic importance of Xinjiang
Xinjiang is China’s strategic lifeline. The West-East gas pipeline network drawing gas from Central Asia along a land corridor helps fuel Beijing’s east coast industrial heartland — the workshop of the world, represented by Shanghai and Guangdong province.
China has also unveiled the Greater Bay Area plan, covering the economic integration of Guangdong with Hong Kong and Macao, requiring huge energy sources.
Apart from energy security, Xinjiang is also the “choke point” through which China is connected with Pakistan, Central Asia and Europe along a vast inter-continental transportation network under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Chinese media on Citizenship law
Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Chinese media has said that the new law mirrors India’s evolving geostrategic posture, in its South Asian neighborhood, the Indian Ocean and beyond, fuelled by the rise of “Hindu nationalism”.
An article in the Global Times noted that “broadly speaking” the CAA “reflects the conflict between liberalism and nationalism. In India, the world’s largest democracy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on a path of nationalism. He tries to achieve a unified national recognition via the idea of having one country, one nation, one religion and one language and eradicating diversification and fragmentation in India’s society and culture”.
It added that the “rise of Hindu nationalism has broader implications for international politics…Hindu nationalism will not be satisfied to be only the dominant force within India. It will push the country to pursue higher international status — from permanent membership in the UN Security Council to dominance in the Indian Ocean and South Asia and eventually a major world power — to satisfy the need for victory and reputation”.
The daily, quoted by The Hindu, further noted that the CAA will have a major “spillover effect” on the Hindu minorities in the region. “At the regional level, conflicts are likely to emerge between India and neighboring countries, especially those having a Hindu population. India cannot move all Hindus to India and the issue of protection of foreign Hindus may arise.”
Indian Muslims fear
Tellingly, widespread demonstrations have rocked the Hindu-majority nation since the law was approved by parliament last month.
At least 27 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed with police accused of using disproportionate force in several states.
Opponents say the government has created a religious test for citizenship in the secular country.
Many among India’s 200 million Muslims fear the law is a precursor to a national register of citizens that could leave them stateless in the country of 1.3 billion. Many poor Indians do not have documents to prove their nationality.
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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