CAA: What is India’s new citizenship Amendment Act?
CAA all set to implement in India, which is citizenship law. This controversial citizenship law giving liberty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from neighbour countries. This is come into action after long wait.
CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) give citizenship to religious minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims to provide refuge to individuals who are being persecuted for their religion. But this law is Anti-Muslim.
The long form of CAA is Citizenship Amendment Act.
This law is passed in 2019 but due to massive protest it put on hold. Many were arrested and died during protest this law. As of now there is not any date by when it will come into effect. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced just before Loka Sabha Election 2024.
What this CAA is all about?
In the upper house of parliament where BJP lacks majority in 2019. Before upper house it is cleared in lower house just 2 days earlier. The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 64 years old bill which restrain illegal migrants from becoming Indian Citizen. Illegal migrants who enter India without valid passport or stay in India beyond permissible time either deported or jailed.
New bill permitted to stay in India who lived or worked at least 11 years before they can be eligible to apply for Indian Citizenship.
But as per new CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) Now there will be exception for members of six religious minorities and they are Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian. Before applying to Indian citizenship or Nationality a person should prove that they are form Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan, if so, they can apply for Indian Citizenship after completion of 6 years.
Furthermore, it stated that those in possession of Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards—an immigration status that allows a foreign national of Indian descent to reside and work in India indefinitely—may lose their status if they break both major and minor local laws.
What makes this CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) Controversial?
Opponents of the law says exclusion and violets principles. Faith can’t be made on condition of Citizenship. Some of the personnels demand equality and religious discrimination against the citizens.
Historian Mr. Kesavan said that ” The law couched in the language of refuge and seemingly directed at foreigners, but its main purpose is the delegitimization of Muslims’ citizenship”.
Gautam Bhatia Delhi Lawyer said that by dividing alleged migrants into Muslims and non-Muslims, the law “explicitly and blatantly seeks to enshrine religious discrimination into law, contrary to our long-standing, secular constitutional ethos”.
Some critics said that if this law is for minorities, then this bill have include Muslim religious minorities who have faced discrimination in their own countries.
Defending the bill, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said, “no country in the world accepts illegal migration”.
“For all others about whom the bleeding hearts are complaining, Indian citizenship laws are there. Naturalised citizenship is an option for others who legally claim Indian citizenship. All other illegal [immigrants] will be infiltrators,” he added.
Also defending the bill earlier this year, R Jagannathan, editorial director of Swarajya magazine, wrote that “the exclusion of Muslims from the ambit of the bill’s coverage flows from the obvious reality that the three countries are Islamist ones, either as stated in their own constitutions, or because of the actions of militant Islamists, who target the minorities for conversion or harassment”.
How does the bill relate to the citizen's register?
These are linked because CAB Citizenship Amendment Bill will help Non-Muslim who exclude from register and deported to their own country. This means Bengali Hindu who are ten thousand in numbers are allowed and get citizenship to stay on in Assam state.
“If the government goes ahead with its plan of implementing the nationwide NRC, then those who find themselves excluded from it will be divided into two categories: (predominantly) Muslims, who will now be deemed illegal migrants, and all others, who would have been deemed illegal migrants, but are now immunised by the Citizenship Amendment Bill if they can show that their country of origin is Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan,” Mr Bhatia said.
Taken together, the NRC and CAB have the “potential of transforming India into a majoritarian polity with gradations of citizenship rights,” said sociologist Niraja Gopal Jaya.
“We had said we will bring CAA. The Congress party opposed the CAA. Since Independence, it was a promise of the Congress and makers of our Constitution that citizenship would be granted to those persecuted on religious grounds in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, who come (to India). But, due to appeasement and vote-bank politics, the Congress party opposed the CAA,” Amit Shah said while speaking at the social media warriors’ meet in Hyderabad’s Secunderabad.
Amit Shah reacted over Opposition of protest over CAA (Citizenship Amendment Law)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah refuted the Opposition’s accusation over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)’s execution today, claiming that the Congress had opposed the law out of “vote bank politics” and “appeasement”.
“We had said we would bring CAA. Congress has opposed CAA. Since Independence, the Congress and the makers of the Constitution had promised that we would give citizenship to refugees from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who suffered atrocities there. But the Congress opposed this due to appeasement and vote bank politics,” he said at a meeting of the BJP’s social media volunteers.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has warned people against applying for citizenship under the new law. “BJP leaders say CAA gives you rights. But the moment you apply for citizenship, you become illegal migrants and you will lose your rights. You will lose rights and be taken to detention camps. Please think before you apply,” she has said. “Have you ever heard of citizenship based on religion? This is an insult of humanity,” the West Bengal Chief Minister has added.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President claimed that CAA is “divisive” and opposed to secularism and pluralism in India.
Conclusion
In simple language non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan can seek Indian Citizenship from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities. A person can apply for citizenship who entered India on or before 31st December 2014. Though this subject is controversial its ease of life for many who are illegally staying in India from long time.
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