美国国家公共电台 NPR 印度首都遭遇最严重宗教暴动（在线收听）

India's capital is experiencing the worst religiousviolence it has seen in decades.

(SOUNDBITE OF RIOT AMBIENCE)

CHANG: The riots in Delhi kicked off on Sunday andhave now led to more than 20 deaths. This all tookplace while President Trump was visiting India, whenhe appeared at an enormous rally with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. We are joined now by Joanna Slater. She's The Washington Post's Indiabureau chief, and she is in Delhi.

Welcome.

JOANNA SLATER: Thank you.

CHANG: So can you just tell us what you've been seeing on the streets where you are?

SLATER: So what we have seen over the last several days is violent confrontations betweengroups of Hindus and Muslims, sometimes with both groups claiming self-defense. At the sametime, there have been Hindu mobs targeting Muslims, sometimes, witnesses have told us, withthe tacit approval or the active assistance of the police.

CHANG: And I understand these riots began, in part, because of a citizenship law that Modi'sgovernment had passed. Can you tell us a little more about what this law does?

SLATER: The citizenship law was passed in December. It enshrines religion as a criterion forcitizenship for the first time. It creates a fast track to citizenship for migrants from threeneighboring countries, provided they belong to six religions, excluding Islam. So for critics, this law is both unconstitutional and discriminatory.

CHANG: But apart from anger towards this law, you also mentioned that there's now angertowards the police and how they've been conducting themselves during these protests. Has thatbecome a separate issue that protesters are protesting?

SLATER: The role of the police is definitely a source of anger at the moment, but the realimpetus for these clashes started with the Citizenship Act and also the broader atmosphere inthe country at the moment, which is one of increasing polarization, increasing fear, particularlyamong Muslims, that Narendra Modi's government intends to marginalize them.

CHANG: And what's been Modi's government's response to all of this violence?

SLATER: Well, until this afternoon, the prime minister — Prime Minister Modi — had not saidanything at all. Earlier today, he issued a plea for calm. But until then, he had been largelyoccupied with President Trump's visit and, perhaps, did not want to draw attention tosomething that reflected badly on him.

CHANG: Yeah, I was curious about that. I mean, this was all going on during Trump's high-profile visit there. Did Trump address any of these protests at all?

SLATER: He did not. He did not address the protests. He did not address the communalviolence. He did not address the Citizenship Act. He simply said on those items that theywere, you know, India's internal affair, and it was a matter for India to decide. At the sametime, he praised Narendra Modi for his efforts on religious freedom. That appears troubling, ironic — you can pick the word — that President Trump was offering praise like that at a timewhen violence was unfolding about 10 miles away — religiously based violence, violence thatinvolved supporters of Narendra Modi in some cases targeting Muslims.

CHANG: But ultimately, what are the goals of these protesters? I mean, is there a realpossibility that this law could be changed anytime soon?

SLATER: It doesn't look that way. The government has made it clear that it will not entertainany changes to this law. I think the protesters will continue to register their opposition to thelaw. And in any case, it's still the most significant opposition to Modi's government since hetook office in 2014.

CHANG: That is The Washington Post's India bureau chief, Joanna Slater. She is in Delhi.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

SLATER: Thank you for having me.

印度首都正在经历数十年来最严重的宗教暴动。

（暴乱现场音频）

张：周日，新德里爆发骚乱，目前已导致超过20人死亡。这一切均发生在特朗普总统访问印度期间，当时他与印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪共同出席了一场重大集会。现在我们将连线乔安娜·斯莱特。她是《华盛顿邮报》印度分社社长，她现在在新德里。

欢迎你。

乔安娜·斯莱特：谢谢。

张：你能介绍一下你在街头看到的情况吗？

斯莱特：过去几天，印度教与穆斯林群体之间爆发了暴力冲突，有时这两个群体称那是自卫。同时，也有印度教暴徒在针对穆斯林，据目击者说，有时这甚至得到了警方的默许或积极协助。

张：我知道引发这些骚乱的部分原因是莫迪政府通过的公民身份法。你能详细介绍一下这部法律的内容吗？

斯莱特：公民身份法于去年12月通过。该法首次将宗教作为公民身份的评判标准。这部法律为来自三个邻国的难民提供了办理公民身份的快速通道，前提是他们信仰六种宗教，伊斯兰教除外。批评者认为，这项法律既违宪又带有歧视性。

张：但除了这部法律引发的愤怒之外，你还提到了人们对警方的愤怒以及警方在抗议活动中的表现。这是否已经成为抗议者抗议的另一个问题？

斯莱特：目前来看，警察的作用无疑是愤怒的源头，但这些冲突的真正原动力是《公民身份法》以及印度目前更广泛的氛围，即日益加剧的两极分化以及恐惧，尤其是穆斯林群体，他们害怕纳伦德拉·莫迪的政府有意将他们边缘化。

张：莫迪政府对这些暴力事件作何回应？

斯莱特：截至今天下午，印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪并未做出任何表态。今天早些时候，他呼吁人们保持冷静。但当时，他主要忙于特朗普总统的访印活动，也许他并不想引起人们对他负面反映的关注。

张：好，我对此感到好奇。这些都是在特朗普总统高调访印期间发生的。那特朗普有没有提到这些抗议活动？

斯莱特：没有。他没有提及抗议。没有谈及族群暴力。也没有提到《公民身份法》。他只是说，这些问题是印度的内部事务，要由印度来决定。同时，他称赞了纳伦德拉·莫迪在宗教自由方面所做的努力。这似乎令人不安而且颇具讽刺，你可以选择一个形容词，特朗普总统给予这种称赞时，大约10英里之外的地区正在上演暴力事件，这是基于宗教的暴力，有时甚至是牵涉纳伦德拉·莫迪的支持者针对穆斯林的暴力。

张：但从根本上说，这些抗议者的目标是什么？这部法律真的有可能在近期发生改变吗？

斯莱特：看起来并非如此。印度政府明确表示，其不会考虑对这部法律进行任何修改。我认为抗议者将继续反对该法。不管怎样，这依然是莫迪政府自2014年上任以来遭遇的最大反抗。

张：以上是《华盛顿邮报》印度分社社长乔安娜·斯莱特从新德里带来的报道。

非常谢谢你今天和我们连线。

斯莱特：谢谢你们邀请我。