According to media reports, the Modi Government will likely shortly announce the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to expedite citizenship process for persecuted non-Muslim undocumented migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh Indian citizenship.
Despite the CAA being passed in 2019, the regulations have not yet been announced. The COVID-19 pandemic and the requirement to carry out a national census, according to the administration, are to blame for the delay in forming the rules.
The essential process of constituency delimitation is anticipated to occur concurrently with the impending notification of the CAA rules. The next delimitation process, which entails redrawing election boundaries based on population data, is scheduled before 2027. The CAA has been a contentious issue ever since it was passed, with many claiming that it discriminates against Muslims. The administration, though, has persistently argued that the law is essential for defending persecuted minorities.
The Citizenship Act of 1955 was amended by the 2019 legislation known as the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The main goal of the CAA is to hasten the citizenship-granting procedure for persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Individuals from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian communities who experienced religious persecution in these nations and arrived in India before December 31, 2014 are specifically granted eligibility for Indian citizenship under the CAA. Notably, Muslims are not eligible under this qualification standard.
Individuals who entered India from these nations before December 31, 2014, belonged to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities, and experienced religious persecution, are qualified for expedited citizenship under the CAA. For these particular categories, the CAA effectively reduces the usual residency requirement for citizenship from 11 years to 5 years.
It’s vital to remember that the CAA does not, by itself, change any Indian citizen’s current citizenship status. It offers particular religious minorities from the aforementioned nations an alternate route to citizenship.
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