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Introduction
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is expected to benefit oppressed immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who are from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities. As per the Act, if these migrants have been living in India on or before 31 December 2014, they will be granted Indian citizenship.
Before this act (CAA), these illegal migrants needed to remain in the country for at least 11 years to be able to apply for citizenship. But the act has now reduced this period of residency to 5 years.
This bill was approved by the Indian President, Ram Nath Kovind, in December 2019. After which it became an Act and became effective across the country from 10 January 2020.
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Citizenship vs. Illegal migrant in India
Let’s have a look at citizenship in India. The Constitution of India provides for single citizenship for the whole of India. Until 1987, to be eligible for Indian citizenship, it was sufficient for a person to be born in India. But due to massive illegal migrations from neighboring countries, the law was amended to additionally require that at least one parent should be Indian. In 2004, the law was further amended to prescribe that not just one parent be Indian; but the other should not be an illegal immigrant.
Now, let's understand an illegal migrant in India. He/she is a foreigner who enters the country without valid travel documents like a passport and visa, or who enters with valid documents but stays beyond the permitted time period. Illegal migrants may be put in jail or deported under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.
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Need of CAA
The need was to provide assistance to:
- People of Indian origin, including members of minority communities, had applied for citizenship under the Citizenship Act of 1955 but had been denied due to no proof of their Indian ancestry.
- Victims of the partition (Hindu-Bengalis) who were trapped in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in the early years.
- People who illegally crossed borders and settled in the Border States, but have been stateless for years.
- People of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
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CAA and Its effect on NRC
NRC, the National Register of Citizens, began in Assam where there was a big problem of continuing migration of people over the years mostly from Bangladesh. It resulted in an agreement between Assam and the Union of India in 1985 for the preparation of NRC for identifying citizens of India and non-citizens.
But in a country like India with widespread illiteracy and lack of documentation, this became a very difficult task. Approximately 19 lakhs were left out of Assam NRC, mostly because they simply didn’t have documents, floods happened and documents were washed away for many other reasons. CAA has, in fact, nullified the Assam Accord of 1985.
Now after combining CAA and NRC what we get is, if one is a non-Muslim person who is left out of NRC, he still has a possibility to get Indian citizenship by claiming that he is a non-citizen but has come from those three countries. But if one is Muslim and has been left out of NRC, he absolutely has no chance to get Indian citizenship and is ruled out by virtue of CAA. They become subject to deputation or put in detention camps and so on.
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Key Features of the Act
The Act allows a person to apply for citizenship by registration or naturalization if the person meets certain qualifications:
- If a person resides in India for a year and if one of his parents is a former Indian citizen, he may apply for citizenship by registration.
- To obtain citizenship by naturalization, the person must have resided in India or have been in the service of the central government for at least 11 years before applying for citizenship.
- In the case of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the 11 years’ requirement will be reduced to five years only.
- The Act provides that the central government may cancel the registration of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) on certain grounds - (i) if the OCI has registered through fraud, (ii) if, within five years of registration, the OCI has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more, (iii) if it becomes necessary in the interest of the sovereignty and security of India.
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Criticism of CAA
- It is against Muslims and specifically targets Muslims and violates the principles of secularism but also of liberalism, equality, and justice.
- It violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality.
- North-eastern states are being targeted due to massive numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants.
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Arguments to support CAA
It is not against Muslims. The Ahmediyas and Rohingyas can still seek Indian citizenship through naturalization (if they enter with valid travel documents). They would need to fulfill conditions specified in the Third Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The Act is not a violation of Article 14. For reference, we can recall that in Louis De Raedt vs. Union of India (1991), the Supreme Court held that the right of a foreigner in India is confined to Article 21 and he/she cannot seek citizenship as a matter of right.
The Act applies to the whole country. It does not dilute the sanctity of the Assam Accord. Also, it is not against the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is being updated to protect indigenous communities from illegal immigrants.
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Conclusion
India has a civil or civilization duty to protect those who are prosecuted in its neighborhood. But, the methods must be in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.
Further, the people of the North-East should be engaged more constructively to convince them that the linguistic, cultural, and social identity of the people of the region would be preserved.
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