On Monday, the Union Home Minister officially notified the rules for the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India. The act, passed by Parliament in 2019, sparked significant protests across the country. Designed to expedite the citizenship process for six religious minorities who migrated to India due to religious persecution in their home countries, the CAA has been a topic of contention since its inception.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the newly introduced rules, titled the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, will enable eligible individuals under the CAA-2019 to apply for Indian citizenship. The application process will be entirely online, facilitated through a dedicated web portal.
Here are five key facts explaining the CAA rules in India:
- Expediting Citizenship: The CAA expedites the Indian citizenship process for six religious minorities: Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian.
- Eligibility Criteria: Individuals belonging to these six religious minorities, persecuted in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and migrated to India before December 31, 2014, are eligible to obtain citizenship under the CAA 2019.
- Residency Requirement: The CAA reduces the residency requirement for these persecuted minorities from 11 to 5 years, facilitating their resettlement and citizenship in India. This means that individuals from these communities who migrated to India from the specified countries five years prior to December 31, 2014, will become eligible for Indian citizenship under the CAA 2019.
- Protection of Citizenship: The Home Ministry clarified that the CAA does not revoke the citizenship of any Indian citizen. It is intended solely to assist individuals who have faced religious persecution and have no alternative country to seek refuge except India.
- Controversy and Protests: The CAA has been met with widespread protests across the nation, with critics alleging that the act unfairly excludes one community from its provisions, violating the fundamental right to equality as enshrined in India's constitution.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the CAA, the implementation of its rules marks a significant development in India's citizenship policies, potentially impacting the lives of millions of individuals belonging to persecuted minority communities.