Govt Notifies Implementation Of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
Mumbai: On Monday, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act regulations were notified by the Center. In December 2019, the CAA was approved by Parliament amidst nationwide violent demonstrations.
Persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, shall be awarded Indian nationality under the CAA.
Home Minister Amit Shah has stated several times that the CAA regulations will be announced prior to the April–May Lok Sabha elections.
After the CAA was approved by Parliament in December 2019 and the President signed it into law, there were large-scale demonstrations around the nation. An official stated that the CAA law can be implemented by issuing an MHA notification, which will enable qualified individuals to become citizens of India.
The creation of the regulations that go along with the CAA is required, even if it has been postponed for more than four years.
“The regulations are prepared, and an online portal is already set up for the entire process, which will be conducted digitally. Applicants will need to disclose the year of their entry into India without any travel documents. No additional documentation will be required from the applicants,” stated the official.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared on December 27 that the CAA is now the national legislation and cannot be stopped from being implemented.
The process of developing the regulations related to the Act has been ongoing since 2020, and the Ministry of Home Affairs has been requesting continuances from the parliamentary committees on a regular basis. More than a hundred people died as a result of police action after the law was passed by Parliament or during the protests.
The Citizenship Act of 1955 has allowed more than thirty district magistrates and home secretaries in nine states to grant Indian citizenship to Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Christians, and immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan during the last two years.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ annual report for 2021–2022, 1,414 members of non-Muslim minority communities who were born in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan between April 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021 received Indian citizenship by virtue of registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
In nine states—Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra—non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act of 1955.
It’s noteworthy that officials in West Bengal and Assam districts—two politically delicate areas when it comes to this issue—have not yet been given access to these powers of giving citizenship.
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