The CAA, that is, the Citizenship Amendment Act, was passed by the BJP-led Central government on December 11, 2019.
It amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide a path to Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants, such as Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis, who migrated from Muslim-majority countries, namely, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, before 31 December, 2014.
Under the said amendment, migrants who entered India till December 31, 2014, would be made eligible for citizenship. This amendment also relaxes the residence requirement for naturalisation of these migrants from twelve years to only six.
Since the time it was passed, the law has sparked a wave of protests, eventually leading to the North-east Delhi riots. Moreover, CAA was not implemented immediately as the rules were not notified.
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It was on March 11, 2024, that the Centre notified the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act and here’s everything you need to know about these rules that provide a framework for the application process for those eligible under the act:
A spokesperson of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights told Reuters, “As we said in 2019, we are concerned that CAA is fundamentally discriminatory in nature and in breach of India’s international human rights obligations.”
Opponents of the law, including rights groups such as the Fraternity Movement, All India Students’ Federation, and Muslim Students’ Federation, among others, say that it is exclusionary and violates the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution and that faith cannot be made a condition of citizenship.
They also say the citizenship law will protect non-Muslims who are excluded from the register, while Muslims could face deportation or internment.
India has a large minority group of 200 million Muslims living in almost every part of India, in a population of more than 1.4 billion.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Hindustan Times, The Wire, Business Standard
Find the blogger: Unusha Ahmad
This post is tagged under: CAA, NRC, BJP, India, Central government, migrants, citizenship, Indian, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, US, UNHCR, amendment, riots, protest, Amnesty India, foreign passport, residential permit, Overseas Citizens of India Cardholders
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