New Delhi: Weeks after Union Home Minister Amit Shah had hinted at it, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday announced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
The CAA will make it easier for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan to get Indian citizenship. The Act will be applicable for those who have arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
What is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) alters the Citizenship Act of 1955 to offer a route to Indian citizenship for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis who migrated from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014.
The implementation of the CAA was pledged by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party before the 2019 Lok Sabha election, yet the specific regulations had not been officially announced.
According to the 2019 amendment, migrants who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, and experienced “religious persecution or a fear of religious persecution” in their country of origin would qualify for expedited citizenship.
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Furthermore, the 2019 amendment to the CAA reduces the residency requirement for naturalization of these migrants from twelve years to six. According to an Intelligence Bureau report on the CAA, once the regulations are announced, there will be over 30,000 immediate beneficiaries from the Act.
Eligibility criteria for Indian citizenship under CAA
1) The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for acquisition, determination, and termination of Indian citizenship. Citizenship of India can be acquired by Birth (Section-3), by descent (section 4), by registration (section 5), or by naturalization (section 6) or by incorporation of territory (section 7). Any foreigner on becoming eligible can acquire citizenship by registration or by naturalization irrespective of his country or his community
2) The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) enables migrants/foreigners of six minority communities from three specified countries who have come to India because of persecution on grounds of their religion to apply for Indian citizenship. It does not amend any existing legal provision which enables any foreigner of any class, creed, religion, category, etc to apply for Indian citizenship through registration or naturalization modes. Such a foreigner has to become eligible to apply for citizenship after fulfilling the minimum legal requirements.
3) The CAA does not apply to Indian citizens. They are completely unaffected by it. It seeks to grant Indian citizenship to particular foreigners who have suffered persecution on grounds of their religion in three neighbouring countries.
Protests against CAA
On December 11, 2019, the CAA was passed by Parliament and a day later, it was notified. However, since the rules were not notified, the Act was not implemented.
Massive protests, both in the country and internationally, broke out against the act and its linked proposals of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Initially erupting in Assam, the protests quickly spread to other states, including Delhi, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura on December 4, 2019. Subsequently, the protests rapidly spread across the country.
In Assam and other northeastern states, protesters opposes the granting of Indian citizenship to any refugee or immigrant, irrespective of their religion. They fear such actions would disrupt the region’s demographic balance, leading to a potential loss of their political rights, cultural identity, and land.
Additionally, there are concerns that this could incentivize more migration from Bangladesh, potentially violating the Assam Accord, a previous agreement between the state and central governments regarding migrants and refugees.
On December 15, significant protests erupted near Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University. As the protests escalated, mobs set fire to and damaged both public and private properties, with several railway stations being vandalized.
The police forcibly entered the Jamia campus, used batons and tear gas against the students. More than 200 students sustained injuries and approximately 100 were detained overnight in police stations. The police intervention received widespread criticism, leading students across the country to protest in solidarity.
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