As anticipated, ahead of the General Elections 2024, the Centre notified the rules for implementation of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 on Monday. This has further paved the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Modi-led government will now begin granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from the above said countries who arrived in India up until December 31, 2014, following the issuance of the CAA regulations. These consist of Christians, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Hindus.
What is CAA?
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to protect individuals who have sought refuge in India due to religious persecution. It offers them a shield against illegal migration proceedings. To be eligible for citizenship, applicants must have entered India on or before December 31, 2014. Currently, Indian citizenship is granted to those born in India or who have lived in the country for at least 11 years. The proposed amendment also includes a provision for the cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration if the OCI cardholder violates any provision of the Citizenship Act or any other applicable law.
Who does CAA leave out?
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The argument since 2019 with the leading opposition parties has been that the law is discriminatory as it targets Muslims, who make up around 15% of the country's population. The government explains that since Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are Islamic republics with a Muslim majority, Muslims cannot be considered persecuted minorities. However, they assure that applications from other communities will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Since the entire process will be conducted online, the Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared a portal for the applicants' convenience. The year that the applicants entered India without proper documentation must be disclosed.
The applicants won't be asked for any documents.
Why has the Opposition been up in arms against it?
The controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed in December 2019, has faced opposition and protests across the country. Many opposition parties have criticized the law, calling it "discriminatory".
The Congress party has raised concerns about the timing of the rule notification, alleging that it is intended to polarize the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal and Assam.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has accused the government of trying to divert attention after the Supreme Court's recent comments on the electoral bonds issue. He stated,
"After seeking nine extensions for the notification of the rules, the timing right before the elections is evidently designed to polarise the elections, especially in West Bengal and Assam."
In Kerala, Chief Minister Vijayan has declared that the CAA will not be implemented in the state, describing it as a law that promotes communal division.
The anti-CAA protests followed by police action claimed more than 100 lives.
The timing of notifying rules
As mentioned before, the CAA was passed nearly four years ago. As per guidelines stated in the manual of parliamentary procedures, the rules for any legislation should have been framed within six months of presidential assent or seek extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in both the houses of the Parliament.
Since 2020, the home ministry has been taking extension in regular interval from the parliamentary committees for framing the rules.
However, it was only in December 2023 that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah stressed up that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the land and also said it was the BJP's commitment to implement the CAA.
The timing of the notification is also to be viewed as the Lok Sabha polls are likely to be announced in a couple of days and the Model Code of Conduct may be implemented thereafter.
How many people may seek citizenship under the new rules?
While no estimated figure has been provided, according to the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2021-22, from April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, a total of 1,414 foreigners belonging to these non-Muslim minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were given Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The Citizenship Act of 1955 grants non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan Indian citizenship through registration or naturalisation in nine states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra.
