Centre notifies Implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) Rules
Context:
The Union Home Ministry announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by parliament in 2019.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Government policies and interventions)
Key Highlights:
- The Ministry reassures that no Indian citizen will need to produce documents to prove citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), emphasizing its impartiality towards Muslims and Hindus.
- The Ministry releases a press note titled “Positive narrative on CAA, 2019,” aiming to address concerns surrounding the CAA’s impact on Muslims in India.
- The CAA, while offering citizenship to non-Muslim undocumented immigrants from neighbouring countries, does not adversely affect Indian Muslims, ensuring equal rights and citizenship status.
- Despite concerns about the CAA’s connection to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the government asserts that no decision has been made to implement a national-level NRC.
- The CAA reduces the residency requirement for persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to acquire Indian citizenship, without infringing on the rights of Indian Muslims.
- The Ministry clarifies that the CAA does not involve repatriating illegal Muslim migrants and does not affect Muslims seeking Indian citizenship through naturalization.
- While addressing the image of Islam in light of the CAA, the Ministry emphasizes the Act’s humanitarian purpose, protecting persecuted minorities without targeting Islam as a religion.
About:
- Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grants citizenship based on religion to six non-Muslim communities from neighbouring countries, namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
- Members of the six communities covered by the CAA are exempt from prosecution under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Passport Act, 1920, pertaining to illegal entry and overstaying visas.
- Concerns surrounding the Act: Critics argue that it may disproportionately benefit non-Muslims excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC), while Muslims could face challenges proving citizenship, particularly after the NRC implementation.
- In the North-East, the CAA’s implementation contradicts the Assam Accord of 1985, potentially impacting the region’s demographic composition and straining resources due to an estimated 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.
- Critics argue that the CAA violates Article 14 of the Constitution, guaranteeing equality, and undermines secularism principles enshrined in the constitution’s preamble, as it discriminates against certain refugee groups not covered by the Act.
- Implementation challenges: There lies a difficulty in distinguishing between persecuted refugees and illegal migrants, raising concerns about administrative efficiency, while the Act’s focus on religious oppression may also strain bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.
