Over a thousand intellectuals come out in support of CAA

"The Act fulfils the long-standing demand of providing refuge to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Ever since the failure of the Liaquat-Nehru pact of 1950, various leaders and political parties like the Congress, CPI(M) etc, cutting across the ideological spectrum, have demanded the grant of citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh who mostly belong to the Dalit castes," the statement quoted by NDTV read.

"We congratulate the Indian parliament and government for standing up for forgotten minorities and upholding the civilizational ethos of India; providing a haven to those fleeing religious persecution," it added.

"We also note with satisfaction that the concerns of the North-Eastern states have been heard and are being addressed appropriately. We believe that CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) is in perfect sync with the secular constitution of India as it does not prevent any person of any religion from any country, seeking Indian citizenship. Nor does it change the criteria of citizenship in any way; merely providing a special expedited redress, under special circumstances..." the statement said.

"We also note with deep anguish, that an atmosphere of fear and paranoia is being created in the country through deliberate obfuscation and fear-mongering leading to violence in several parts of the country. We appeal to every section of society to exercise restraint and refuse to fall into the trap of propaganda, communalism and anarchism," it said.

According to the report, the statement bears the signatures of 1,100 signatories, including reserach scholars and acamedicians from universities outside the country apart from Jawaharlal Nehru University registrar Pramod Kumar, senior journalists Swapan Dasgupta and Kanchan Gupta, and Nalanda University vice chancellor Sunaina Singh.