The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 seeks to amend the definition of illegal immigrants who have lived in India without documentation. The Union Cabinet cleared the Bill on 4 December 2019. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on 10 December 2019 and, subsequently, in the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019.
What is Citizenship Amendment Bill?
The Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to provide citizenship to religious minorities-namely Hindus, Sikh, Jain, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians-who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh on or before December 31, 2014.
A person belonging to any of these faiths from the three nations can apply for Indian citizenship after six years of residence in the country, without having to prove his/her birth.
They will be granted fast-track Indian citizenship in six years for people belonging to the same six religions and three countries mentioned above. Indian citizenship, under present law, is given either to those born in India or if they have resided in the country for a minimum of 11 years.
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Why is the problem with Citizenship Amendment Bill
The opposition says the Bill violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution — the Right to Equality.
Oppositions politicians and protesters in several Indian cities said the bill discriminated against Muslims and violated India’s secular constitution. It makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion, which critics say violates the spirit of equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
The CAB has also faced opposition and reservation from many political outfits, including NDA alliance partners over concerns that granting citizenship to foreigners will undermine the ethnic communities living in regions.
Minority outfits have lashed out against the Bill for leaving out Muslims and also on the ground that it is at odds with the Constitution, which does not differentiate between citizens on the basis of religion.
“We reject this Bill. It is against the Constitution and against Hindu-Muslim unity,” Badruddin Ajmal, Lok Sabha AIUDF MP from Dhubri, Assam, said in an interaction with reporters
Why North East States is seeing massive protests against CAB?
The Bill has triggered widespread protests in northeastern states where many feel that permanent settlement of illegal immigrants will disturb the region’s demography and further burden resources and decrease employment opportunities for indigenous people.
A large section of people and organisations opposing the Bill feel that CAB could nullify the 1985 Assam Accord, which had set March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.
The violent protests were raging on in several parts of Assam, as student bodies have demanded an immediate withdrawal of the bill, saying that giving citizenship to illegal immigrants will affect opportunities available to locals.
What is the Government response to Assam protesters
Amit Shah said, “I assure the people of Assam that the government will take care of their culture and linguistic identities.” He added the House that the Citizenship Amendment Bill will not affect the rights enjoyed by Sikkim under Article 371. “There will be no dilution of Sikkim’s rights,” he said.
Why Muslims have been excluded from the Citizenship Amendment Bill
“Muslims have been excluded in this bill because it covers only those minorities who were persecuted on grounds of religion in these countries. The state religion of these countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh) is Islam and there is hardly any chance of Muslims being persecuted on religious grounds. But even if there is any Muslim in these countries who feels persecuted, he/she can apply for Indian citizenship in the ordinary manner. In the past five years, the Narendra Modi government has granted Indian citizenship to 566 Muslims from these countries.”
Home Minister Amit Shah cited ‘reasonable classification’ as the basis for excluding Muslims from these countries.
“The people of the six minority communities who migrated to India following religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship as per this Bill. They are being given citizenship on the basis of reasonable classification. The Bill does not violate Article 14 of the Indian Constitution,” Shah said.
How is it different from NRC?
The National Register of Citizens, the process of which has been recently completed in Assam, looks to remove illegal immigrants from India.
According to NRC, a person, to be eligible to be a citizen, would have to prove that either they or their ancestors were in India on or before March 24, 1971, the eve of the Bangladesh War. The war of liberation had begun in Bangladesh the next day, which sent thousands of refugees to India.
While the NRC was aimed at deportation of illegal immigrants irrespective of their religions, the CAB is likely to benefit non-Muslim migrants, according to some activists.
The BJP has claimed that the CAB will assist those left out of the final NRC. However, experts say that the CAB, which provides citizenship to minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, cannot help the Gorkhas, Scheduled Tribes, Bhojpuri, Koch Rajbongshi, Tea Tribes as they cannot claim to have migrated from these nations.
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