In December, India enacted a new citizenship law that makes it easier for illegal aliens, provided they are non-Muslim aliens from Muslim-majority countries bordering India, to become citizens.  India's Muslim community took to the streets to protest, complaining that the new law would destroy their demographics, culture, and economy.  To date, the Western media have responded to Muslim concerns with the utmost sympathy.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (or "CAB") amends India's 1955 Citizenship Act.  Under the old law, a requirement for acquiring Indian citizenship was that the applicant had to have resided legally in India.  Illegal aliens were subject to jail or deportation.  Beginning in 2015 and 2016, however, the government exempted Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian illegal aliens from criminal consequences.

The new CAB further softens the law for non-Muslim illegal aliens arriving from Muslim-majority countries by allowing them to become citizens.  Muslims objected:

The fundamental criticism of the Bill has been that it specifically targets Muslims. Critics argue that it is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality.

The government, however, maintains that the Bill aims to grant citizenship to minorities who have faced religious persecution in Muslim-majority foreign countries. BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have spoken of this Bill as righting the wrongs of history by granting refuge to the sons and daughters of "Ma Bharti", who were left stranded by Partition.

In the Northeastern states, the prospect of citizenship for massive numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants has triggered deep anxieties, including fears of demographic change, loss of livelihood opportunities, and erosion of the indigenous culture.

As is their wont when offended, Muslims have taken to the street in protest and are claiming that Indian police have responded with unwarranted aggression.  According to the BBC, reporting from earlier this week:

Northern India's Uttar Pradesh has been the worst affected in the ongoing protests against a controversial new citizenship law. At least 19 people have died in the state since protests began on 20 December.

[snip]

At least 50 officers have been injured in the clashes in Uttar Pradesh alone — but the police have also been accused of using disproportionate force against anti-CAA protesters.

Civil rights groups say the law, which offers amnesty to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, discriminates against Muslims. The government, however, argues it will protect religious minorities fleeing persecution, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah insisting it is not against Muslims.

[snip]

The fear in the Muslim community has been fuelled further by [Hinda politician] Yogi Adityanath's previous anti-Muslim statements, including advocating for a Donald Trump-style travel ban on Muslims in India, accusing Muslim men of forcibly converting Hindu women and comparing Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan to Pakistan-based militant Hafiz Saeed.

Many believe that the chief minister is just following Mr Modi's idea of "muscular Hindu nationalism".

"Uttar Pradesh has become the ideology's main laboratory," [politician and Muslim community leader] Nassiruddin says.

Thousands, mostly Muslim men, have been detained across the state and internet services were suspended for days. Many prominent activists, including a former top policeman, have been detained.

The police have also been accused of intimidating Muslims. Video footage from Kanpur shows policemen allegedly vandalising cars and homes in Muslim-populated areas in the dead of the night. My colleagues reported claims of similar incidents from other parts of the state.

Progressive media outlets have long insisted that Latin American economic refugees should have free and permanent passage into America.  They've ridiculed concerns about economic instability, loss of culture, and demographic change.  With India, though, the media have reversed themselves and report with sympathy about Muslim concerns, while showing scant regard for the refugees leaving institutional discrimination and violence.

The New York Times published an article entitled "As India Violence Gets Worse, Police Are Accused of Abusing Muslims," detailing how Muslims are being abused at the hands of the Indian police for objecting to a law that may change their communities.

The BBC article quoted above is entitled "Citizenship Act protests: Why fear has gripped Muslims in this Indian state."

Al Jazeera reports that "India's LGBTQ community joins citizenship law protests — Members of LGBTQ community and others march in New Delhi as protests against 'anti-Muslim' law continue across India."  The Qatar government owns and funds Al Jazeera.  Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, with punishments ranging from fines and imprisonment to death.

Voice of America highlights the key role Muslim women are playing in protesting the new law: "Women in New Delhi Muslim Neighborhood Spearhead Protest Against Citizenship Law."

One can imagine that walls in Progressive newsrooms have posters quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson's statement that "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."