India has ‘isolated’ itself through CAA: Former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon

Former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on Friday slammed the government for amending the Citizenship Act, saying India has "isolated" itself through the move and the list of critical voices both at home and abroad is "pretty long." Speaking at an event where a number of academicians discussed the adverse implications of the contentious law, which has led to nationwide protests, Menon said the perception of India has changed after the law was passed.

"India has isolated itself through the move and the list of critical voices in the international community is also pretty long now. Perception of India has changed in the last few months. Even our friends have been taken aback," Menon said.

"What we have achieved in the recent past is to hyphenate our (India's) image with Pakistan in a fundamental way, which is an intolerant state," said the former National Security Adviser.

What the world thinks matters more to us now than ever before, he said and asserted that disengagement or going alone is not an option.

"But we seem determined with actions like these (CAA) to cut off and isolate ourselves. That is no good to anybody," he said.

"We seem to be in violation of international covenants. Those who think that international laws cannot be enforced, they must consider political and other consequences of being perceived as violators of international conventions," he added.

Others who spoke at the event at Press Club were academicians included Zoya Hasan, Niraja Jayal and Faizan Mustafa among others.