By Hanan Zaffar
When Taufeeq Ahmed* boarded a flight from New Delhi to Canada in early 2020, he wasn’t chasing a promotion, a degree or the promise of a better paycheque.
Instead, he was trying to leave something behind – a heavy sense of unease that had been quietly building for years, and a fear that had finally become impossible to ignore.
“I lived close to Jamia Millia Islamia,” he said, referring to the prominent university in New Delhi where he used to study.
“During the anti-CAA protests, I saw police beating unarmed students, dragging them by their hair, firing tear gas into libraries. I had seen footage of this kind of state violence in Egypt or Hong Kong. But now, it was right outside my door.”
The CAA, or Citizenship Amendment Act, was passed in 2019 by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sparking nationwide protests. The law fast-tracks Indian citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries, drawing criticism for institutionalising religious discrimination.
The protests at Jamia turned violent when police stormed the campus. For Ahmed, that moment ended any illusion he had of safety.
“That night changed something inside me,” he said. “It wasn’t just about policy anymore. It was personal. The fear was immediate and physical.”
Vulnerability
In the following weeks, the weight of that fear hardened into a more profound disillusionment. What Ahmed had once brushed off as isolated incidents – lynchings in distant towns, discriminatory remarks at workplaces, inflammatory speeches by politicians – now felt systemic and undeniable.
The realisation that the institutions built to protect people were complicit, or worse, indifferent, left him questioning the very idea of belonging.
“I was totally disillusioned by the idea of our country. It is truly messed up in so many ways – inequality, environment, caste, urban planning. I can go on, but speaking as a Muslim, the hate that the majority population have for Muslims is unimaginable. The levels of Islamophobia are through the roof,” Ahmed told Middle East Eye.
Today, Ahmed and his wife live in Toronto, where he says his faith is respected, not scrutinised.
This story was originally published in middleeasteye.net. Read the full story here.