Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the killing of Indian Muslim citizens during riots in the Indian capital of New Delhi.
Four days of clashes in northern New Delhi caused at least 34 deaths and more than 200 injuries as a result of the citizenship law. After the clashes in the areas of Majipur, Jafrabad, Chand Bagh and Karal Nagar, Delhi authorities imposed curfews there, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kedzhriwal called on the government to introduce an army into these areas.
“India has become a country where massacres are taking place. Muslims are being killed by Hindus. How will these people maintain peace in the world? This is impossible”, – Erdogan said, speaking in Ankara.
According to amendments to the Citizenship Act of India’s Parliament, non-Muslim refugees from neighboring countries – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh – will be able to obtain Indian citizenship through a simplified procedure if they face harassment in their homeland. The law has provoked resentment among Indian Muslims who believe the amendments violate the constitution by oppressing some citizens in a formally secular country on religious grounds. Also outraged were residents of the northeastern states, who feared that millions of Bangladeshis could now legally settle in their regions. According to the organizers of the protests, this threatens the interests of the local population.
The opposition believes that the law is discriminatory because it deprives Muslims of the possibility of obtaining citizenship, although in officially secular India with a population of 1.3 billion people, followers of Islam constitute more than 10% of the population. According to critics, under these conditions, religious affiliation should not be a condition for acquiring citizenship.