New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has planned to publish a book documenting the stories of thousands of refugees who fled to India after facing religious persecution in Muslim-majority neighbouring countries.
The move, ThePrint has learnt, is aimed at countering the “negative” and “anti-Muslim” image of the government that has solidified with the ongoing countrywide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The CAA seeks to offers citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh if they faced religious persecution there — provided they entered country before 31 December 2014.
Sources in the government told ThePrint the decision to publish the book comes from the top brass and the Information & Broadcasting Ministry’s (I&B) Publications Division will be in-charge of the project that will document and preserve the stories of the refugees, who have settled in India.
ThePrint reached the additional secretary of the I&B ministry for comment, but there was no response until the time of publishing this report.
Book to be translated in Arabic, French, Russian
The book will first come out in Hindi and English, and will subsequently be translated into other official languages recognised by the United Nations — Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish — so that the stories can reach people across the world.
“The idea is to record the stories of these immigrants and showcase to the world how these immigrants suffered because of religious persecution,” a senior government official told ThePrint.
Another government official said the stories of the people who faced religious persecution in India’s Muslim-majority neighbouring countries would evoke sympathy.
It would also make the intention of the Narendra Modi government clear, both in India and abroad, that it wants to help the refugees who were persecuted in their native countries by providing them Indian citizenship, the official added.
State-owned broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio will air some of these human-interest stories, he said.
Govt busy firefighting on CAA-NRC
Meanwhile, the government has been continuously trying to clarify about the CAA and the NRC amid raging protests.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought to dispel the confusion and said there is no provision in the CAA to take away anybody’s citizenship.
The government’s official communication wing, the Press Information Bureau, is also doing its bit by tweeting videos and posts on the CAA.
Why #NRC has no connection to #CAA,
and why no Indian citizen needs to have any fears about either : watch this easy explainer from @DDNewsLive #CitizenshipAmendmentAct#NationalRegisterOfCitizenshttps://t.co/ZpL6eiiuDQ— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 20, 2019
Do not get misled by misinformation on #CAA #CitizenshipAmendmentAct2019
Help in fighting myths, rumours and misinformation : do look up this quick graphic with the facts
#NRC #mythbusters #PIBFactcheck pic.twitter.com/LczYZROnt2— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 22, 2019
The home ministry has also put out a series of tweets, clarifying the government’s stand on the issues.
The Prasar Bharati News Services has been dispelling “rumours” by posting short videos and explainers.
Rumour: NRC excludes transgender, atheist, adivasis, dalits, women and landless without documents
The Truth:#CitizenshipAmmendmentAct #NRC pic.twitter.com/PSvMBD50YL— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) December 20, 2019
The BJP, too, has come out with an animated video, featuring two Muslim characters discussing the basics of the CAA and the NRC.
Also read: ‘Trying to be woke, cool’ — BJP targets Instagram influencers over Citizenship Act protests