Modi government notifies Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)

CAA proponents argue that it provides refuge to persecuted minorities

Opponents claim it undermines India's secular principles and discriminates against Muslims

The Modi government announced the notification of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). For quite sometime now, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had been saying that the notification would be done before Lok Sabha elections. Let’s have a look at what the CAA is all about:

CAA is a law passed in India in December 2019.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has several key features:

1. The CAA provides a path to Indian citizenship for religious minorities from three neighboring countries—Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan—who entered India before December 31, 2014. However, the Act specifically excludes Muslims, which has sparked controversy and criticism, with some arguing that it violates the secular principles of India’s constitution.
2. Exemption for certain religious minorities: The CAA grants eligibility for Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
3. Criteria for eligibility: To qualify for citizenship under the CAA, individuals must have entered India from the specified countries before December 31, 2014, and have faced religious persecution or fear of persecution in their home countries.
4. Relaxation of naturalization requirements: The CAA relaxes the residency requirement for citizenship by naturalization from 11 years to 5 years for the specified religious minority groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
5. Potential implications for the National Register of Citizens (NRC): Critics argue that the CAA, when combined with the proposed implementation of the NRC, could be used to target and discriminate against Muslims by potentially rendering them stateless if they are unable to provide sufficient documentation to prove their citizenship.

Overall, the CAA has been controversial, with proponents arguing that it provides refuge to persecuted minorities, while opponents claim it undermines India’s secular principles and discriminates against Muslims.