What is CAA?

What is CAA?

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to make illegal immigrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31 2014 eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
                  According to the 1955 law, a person must have resided in India for at least 11 years in order to be eligible for citizenship. The amended Act reduces that period to 5 years for all migrants from these three countries belonging to these six religious communities.
The bill was passed in LOK SABHA on 9th December 2019, with 311 votes in favor and 80 votes in against.
The bill got passed in RAJYA SABHA on 11th December 2019, with 125 votes in favor and 105 votes in against.
On 12th December 2019, the bill received the assent from President of India and thus the bill assumed the status of an act.

Who is an Illegal Migrant in India?

- Illegal Migrant –   A foreigner who has entered India without any documentation/illegally or has overstayed beyond the permitted time is called an illegal migrant.
- Migrant- A foreigner who has entered India with intent to settle permanently and with legal documentation is called a migrant.

- The definition of Illegal Migrant has been changed for the people of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists community who belongs from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and have been staying in India before 31st December 2014 will not be considered as a illegal migrant.

• CONDITIONS APPLY- One has to stay in India for 12 months before the date of apply.

How is Citizenship determined in India?

 -Birth- Every person born in India on or after 26.01.1950 but before 01.07.1987 is an Indian citizen irrespective of the nationality of his/her parents.
- Every person born in India between 01.07.1987 and 02.12.2004 is a citizen of India given either of his/her parents is a citizen of the country at the time of his/her birth.
- Every person born in India on or after 3.12.2004 is a citizen of the country given both his/her parents are Indians or at least one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of birth. 
                                                                                                                                                             - Registration- Citizenship can also be acquired by registration. Some of the mandatory rules are
-A person of Indian origin who has been a resident of India for 7 years before applying for registration.                                                                                                                                                 - A person of Indian origin who is a resident of any country outside undivided India.
 - A person who is married to an Indian citizen and is ordinarily resident for 7 years before applying for registration.                                                                                 
  -Minor children of persons who are citizens of India. 
                                                                                                                                                         - Descent-  A person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950, is a citizen of India by descent if his/her father was a citizen of India by birth.
- A person born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, but before December 3, 2004 if either of his/her parent was a citizen of India by birth.                                   
 - If a person born outside India or or after December 3, 2004 has to acquire citizenship, his/her parents have to declare that the minor does not hold a passport of another country and his/her birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of birth.
                                                                                                                                                      – Naturalization- A person can acquire citizenship by naturalization if he/she is ordinarily resident of India for 12 years (throughout 12 months preceding the date of application and 11 years in the aggregate) and fulfils all qualifications in the third schedule of the Citizenship Act.
The Act does not provide for dual citizenship or dual nationality. It only allows citizenship for a person listed under the provisions above i.e.: by birth, descent, registration or naturalization.
 

How many people will apply for naturalization process under CAA?

A total of 31,313 persons belonging to minority communities, including 25,477 HINDU, 5,807 SIKHS, 55 CHRISTIANS, 2 BUDDHISTS and 2 PARSIS who have been given long term visa on the basis of their claim of religious persecution in their respective countries and want Indian Citizenship will be the immediate beneficiaries of the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act. (A figure submitted by the IB during a parliamentary committee hearing on the bill in 2016)

Government’s logic behind the act?

The act has been mainly introduced to aid refugees fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh & Afghanistan.
The reason why muslims are excluded from the purview of the act.
             
        *Hindu Population in Pakistan in 1951- 12.9%
        * Hindu Population in Pakistan in 2019- 1.60%
       
        *Hindu Population in Bangladesh in 1951- 22%
        *Hindu Population in Bangladesh in 2019- 8.5%

        *Hindi Population in Afghanistan in 2017- 0.4%

The 3 countries that have been placed under the ambit of CAA are
 Muslim populated and Islamic countries and religious persecution of Muslims here is very low (Stated by Home Minister Amit Shah)

Why is NORTH-EAST protesting against CAA?

-There is fear in the northeast that granting citizenship to ordinary refugees will undermine the ethnic communities living in these regions.
-CAB would threaten the interests of indigenous tribal people and dilute their culture and political sway.
-Protesters say the bill is against the secular fabric of India’s Constitution and will allow the influx of lakh’s of foreigners from these three nations into an area already burdened with illegal migrants
- The Seven Sister states will be under fierce burden if they find millions of new Indians among them battling for employment and resources with locals.
-Apart from the people of Assam, it will also have an impact on the Forest, Water, Land, Language and Tradition here.

How much of the NORTH-EAST is exempted and covered under the act?

There are two categories that have been given exemption – states protected by the “Inner Line Permit” and areas covered under the “Sixth Schedule” of the constitution.
ILP - The inner line permit (ILP) system, required by Indian citizens to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram is issued under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, by the state governments.
It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain permit for entering to the protected state.
SIXTH SCHEDULE - The 6th schedule to the constitution of India is for the administration of tribal areas of 4 states of north-east.  It provides special powers for Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in these states. ADCs have powers to enact laws in areas under their jurisdiction on a variety of subjects, one of its objectives being to boost self-governance by tribal communities.
• “Indians also need permit to visit these places”


1- ARUNACHAL PRADESH – Entire state covered undered Inner Line Permit ,exempted from CAA.

2- ASSAM - The state has three Autonomous District Councils, two of which are geographically contiguous. While these are protected, CAA will be in effect in a larger area.

3- MEGHALAYA – CAA will apply only to a small part of shillong, rest all the state is covered under Sixth Schedule.

4- TRIPURA- One ADC covers around 70% of the state’s area. However, the remaining 30% holds about two-thirds of the population. CAA is effective in the smaller, more densely populated regions.  (SIXTH SCHEDULE )

5- NAGALAND – Entire state covered under Inner Line Permit.

6- MIZORAM – Entire state covered under Inner Line Permit.

7- MANIPUR – The state gets all new protection of Inner Line Permit after the introduction of CAA in parliament. Earlier the state wasn’t protected in both the options.

Why the people and other political parties are opposing CAA?

Several left leaning parties (INC, BMK, TMC, NCP, AAP, SP, and CPIM) are opposing CAA and here it is why-
The left parties believe that the CAA is unconstitutional and it violates the 3 articles of the constitution-
1. Article 14- Right to equality
2. Article 15- Discrimination of Indian’s on basis of Religion, Caste, Sex or place of birth.
3. Article 21- Protection of life and personal liberty.

Now the question arises that,
The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a path for citizenship to minorities (non-Muslims) from three muslim majority nations - Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Data show that religious minorities, including Muslims, in other neighboring countries such as Myanmar, China, and Sri Lanka also face persecution. In many countries, minority sects within the majority of religions (including Islam) are also persecuted (Ahmadiyya in Pakistan).

According to UN esitimates, there are over 51 lakh international migrants in India as of 2019. Among them, over 2 lakh people were refugees recognized under the 1951 convention. Most migrants in India are from Bangladesh while most refugees are from China (Tibetans).

The other question that arises here is that,
- Even if they give citizenship to them, will the government     be able to accommodate them?
- India ranks 145th Globally in Healthcare, worse than Bhutan & Bangladesh.
- India ranks 102nd out of 117 countries in Global Hunger Index, worse than Pakistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka.
-India’s unemployment rate 7.7%.
- India ranks 62nd on total public expenditure on education. With a total of 3% of total GDP spend on education sector of India.
- How will one prove that he is religiously persecuted?

Looking at the data given above, do you think that the Government will be able to give them a place to live, medical facilities, food, education, employment?

                                                               -HEMANG BARUA