'Secularism, communism will survive if…': Union minister on minorities

Kolkata: Asserting that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, was a moral obligation towards minority communities in countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, who had been “forgotten since Partition”, Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said that secularism and communism would survive in India only as long as Hindus remain in the majority.

Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Majumdar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019.

“For decades, no one thought about the Dalit refugees who crossed over from East Bengal. It is for the first time that Narendra Modi has considered their plight,” he said.

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Drawing from Partition-era history, he referred to Jogendra Nath Mandal, the first law minister of Pakistan, who, despite his high office, had to flee to India with his wife and daughter to “save his dignity”.

Majumdar said the Dalit community that had trusted Mandal’s call to stay back in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) faced relentless persecution thereafter, forcing generations of refugees to migrate to India.

Reiterating his remarks on demographics, the BJP leader said, “Secularism and communism will remain in India only as long as Hindus are in the majority. Otherwise, they will not survive. Because Hindus are the only community that believes in inclusivity.”

Majumdar underlined that religious minorities, particularly Dalits, continued to face atrocities in Bangladesh.

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“These refugees have been coming to India since 1947. Women, in particular, have been subjected to continuous persecution. For years, no one spoke for them. For the first time, Narendra Modi thought about their future and ensured the passage of the CAA,” he said.

Majumdar also referred to changes made to the Foreigners Act, highlighting a fresh home ministry notification.

“If a Hindu, anywhere in the world, faces persecution or is prevented from practising his or her faith, that person can seek refuge in India,” he said.

The minister linked the move to the BJP’s broader ideological stance, insisting that the CAA was a moral obligation towards communities who had been “forgotten since Partition”.

“Many political parties either remained silent on the atrocities of Hindus in Bangladesh, or used them for political reasons,” he said.

Members of minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — who came to India till December 31, 2024, to escape religious persecution will be allowed to stay in the country without a passport or other travel documents, according to the Union Home Ministry’s order on September 1.

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According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which came into force last year, members of these persecuted minorities who came to India on or before December 31, 2014, will be granted Indian citizenship.

The significant order, issued under the just-implemented Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, will come as a relief to a large number of people, especially Hindus from Pakistan, who crossed over to India after 2014 and were worried about their fate.

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