"In my scheme of the German state, there will be no room for the alien, no use for the wastrel, for the usurer or the speculator, or anyone incapable of productive work." - Adolf Hitler
The subject of today's post was supposed to be something entirely different; I had started to write a piece on Indian freedom fighter and politician Lala Lajpat Rai whose birth anniversary we celebrate on this day. But, news over the last two days prompted me to change the subject to something that sort of continues from yesterday's post, while being relevant to today's times.
I follow Shekhar Gupta's regular videos on YouTube for The Print; a daily episode of 'Cut the Clutter' and a weekly episode of 'National Interest'. This week on 'National Interest', he spoke about how and why the European Nations are jittery about the CAA, a controversial bill that had been passed recently by the Indian Parliament. Since the bill was passed on December 11, 2019, there have been continuous protests against it that do not seem to be abating. Mr. Gupta who has been, at least to my limited knowledge, the most neutral and the most objective among the media, has spoken and written on this quite extensively, presenting elaborate point both for and against the bill; many of my doubts about the workings of the bill and its effects have been cleared by following him. Anyways, this week in his episode, he touched upon a point to the European mind, this bill brings memories of the Nuremberg Laws. Incidentally, I had read up on the Nuremberg Laws for yesterday's post and decided to write about them.
The Nuremberg Laws were passed by the Reichstag of Nazi Germany on September 15, 1935. The laws consisted of two parts; the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, and the Reich Citizenship Law. The first part dealt specifically stated that marriages and inter-relations between Germans and Jews were expressly declared invalid, even if such marriages had not taken place in Germany. Jews were not permitted to employ German females of less than 45 years of age, or run the national colors on their buildings or businesses. Such marriages and such actions would be punishable severely. The second part of the law stated that only the Reich government could bestow citizenship through a citizenship certificate and defined German citizens as those to be of German blood, and who could, by their conduct prove that they fit and faithful to serve Germany. The law went on to describe that any person who had three Jew grandparents would be considered a Jew. Later, the law was further modified that those with even two Jewish grandparents would be considered Jews if they practiced Judaism or married a Jew.
By this law, Jews became devoid of their citizenship and their statehood. Furthermore, if Jews wanted to migrate to a different country, they had to leave behind ninety per cent of their wealth in Germany. This meant that they would virtually be in destitution, while arriving in a new country. In spite of this, thousands of Jews migrated from Germany in the next five years. But soon as the clouds of war started to gather on the horizon, nation after nation started to close their doors on migrant refugees who were already in poverty. The Jews were stranded in a country that did not want them, unable to work, unable to earn, only relying on each other to fend for themselves.
Antisemitism already existed in Germany, but this law seemed to imply guilt by association, especially, the clause in the law that required them to prove by their conduct that they were faithful to the German nation. Arbitrary in nature, it turned on its head, a common rule of jurisprudence, and presumed that people were guilty unless they could prove their innocence. Even those sympathetic to the Jews would want to stay away from them for fear of association and the law only strengthened common opinion that the Jews were indeed a separate and inferior race.
The CAA does not resemble the Nuremberg Laws, at least literally. But it still uses religion to determine citizenship. The government may shout from the rooftops that they passed the law for Hindu refugees, but talk to any supporter of the law and this point is at the bottom of their list. The common belief among them is that this is just the latest in a line of actions that this government has carried out to 'put the minority community in their place', because this is precisely what the government implied was their intent all along although they never said it explicitly. Moreover, the government has painted itself into a corner with this bill. If they withdraw it, they look weak, open themselves to ridicule from the opposition and probably lose their core support base. If they expand the bill to allow Muslims, the world might still deem it just if not outright magnanimous, but they still endanger losing their support base. So, the most that they can do now is to try and put out the protests or firefight long enough hoping that they will be forgotten.
I must say, I don't support the bill in its current form, though I definitely believe that there is merit and honor in providing citizenship to refugees of persecution, especially if they have settled for a long period of time. I carry no qualifications to be a historian or a journalist. At best, I am an amateur armchair student of history, at worst I am a devilishly dubious pandita. This bill continues to polarize the country however, and I only hope that we don't turn deaf to those who disagree with us.
Sources:
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Laws
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_(Amendment)_Act,_2019
3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_nationality_law
4. National Interest episode by Shekhar Gupta https://youtu.be/1oq-bD4vT5Q
I follow Shekhar Gupta's regular videos on YouTube for The Print; a daily episode of 'Cut the Clutter' and a weekly episode of 'National Interest'. This week on 'National Interest', he spoke about how and why the European Nations are jittery about the CAA, a controversial bill that had been passed recently by the Indian Parliament. Since the bill was passed on December 11, 2019, there have been continuous protests against it that do not seem to be abating. Mr. Gupta who has been, at least to my limited knowledge, the most neutral and the most objective among the media, has spoken and written on this quite extensively, presenting elaborate point both for and against the bill; many of my doubts about the workings of the bill and its effects have been cleared by following him. Anyways, this week in his episode, he touched upon a point to the European mind, this bill brings memories of the Nuremberg Laws. Incidentally, I had read up on the Nuremberg Laws for yesterday's post and decided to write about them.
The Nuremberg Laws were passed by the Reichstag of Nazi Germany on September 15, 1935. The laws consisted of two parts; the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, and the Reich Citizenship Law. The first part dealt specifically stated that marriages and inter-relations between Germans and Jews were expressly declared invalid, even if such marriages had not taken place in Germany. Jews were not permitted to employ German females of less than 45 years of age, or run the national colors on their buildings or businesses. Such marriages and such actions would be punishable severely. The second part of the law stated that only the Reich government could bestow citizenship through a citizenship certificate and defined German citizens as those to be of German blood, and who could, by their conduct prove that they fit and faithful to serve Germany. The law went on to describe that any person who had three Jew grandparents would be considered a Jew. Later, the law was further modified that those with even two Jewish grandparents would be considered Jews if they practiced Judaism or married a Jew.
By this law, Jews became devoid of their citizenship and their statehood. Furthermore, if Jews wanted to migrate to a different country, they had to leave behind ninety per cent of their wealth in Germany. This meant that they would virtually be in destitution, while arriving in a new country. In spite of this, thousands of Jews migrated from Germany in the next five years. But soon as the clouds of war started to gather on the horizon, nation after nation started to close their doors on migrant refugees who were already in poverty. The Jews were stranded in a country that did not want them, unable to work, unable to earn, only relying on each other to fend for themselves.
Antisemitism already existed in Germany, but this law seemed to imply guilt by association, especially, the clause in the law that required them to prove by their conduct that they were faithful to the German nation. Arbitrary in nature, it turned on its head, a common rule of jurisprudence, and presumed that people were guilty unless they could prove their innocence. Even those sympathetic to the Jews would want to stay away from them for fear of association and the law only strengthened common opinion that the Jews were indeed a separate and inferior race.
The CAA does not resemble the Nuremberg Laws, at least literally. But it still uses religion to determine citizenship. The government may shout from the rooftops that they passed the law for Hindu refugees, but talk to any supporter of the law and this point is at the bottom of their list. The common belief among them is that this is just the latest in a line of actions that this government has carried out to 'put the minority community in their place', because this is precisely what the government implied was their intent all along although they never said it explicitly. Moreover, the government has painted itself into a corner with this bill. If they withdraw it, they look weak, open themselves to ridicule from the opposition and probably lose their core support base. If they expand the bill to allow Muslims, the world might still deem it just if not outright magnanimous, but they still endanger losing their support base. So, the most that they can do now is to try and put out the protests or firefight long enough hoping that they will be forgotten.
I must say, I don't support the bill in its current form, though I definitely believe that there is merit and honor in providing citizenship to refugees of persecution, especially if they have settled for a long period of time. I carry no qualifications to be a historian or a journalist. At best, I am an amateur armchair student of history, at worst I am a devilishly dubious pandita. This bill continues to polarize the country however, and I only hope that we don't turn deaf to those who disagree with us.
Sources:
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Laws
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_(Amendment)_Act,_2019
3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_nationality_law
4. National Interest episode by Shekhar Gupta https://youtu.be/1oq-bD4vT5Q
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