The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

How will the NRC be updated?

• Provisions The NRC will be updated as per the provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

Eligibility for inclusion in updated NRC

• Persons whose names appear in NRC, 1951.
• Persons whose names appear in the Electoral Rolls up to 24th March (midnight), 1971.
• Descendants of the above persons.
• Persons who came to Assam from Bangladesh between 1st January 1966 and 25th March 1971 and registered themselves with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and were declared by the Foreigner Tribunal as Indian citizens.
• All Indian Citizens including their children and descendants who have moved to Assam post 24th March 1971 would be eligible for inclusion in the updated NRC on adducing satisfactory proof of residence in any part of the country (outside Assam) as of 24th March 1971.
• Persons who can provide any of the admissible documents issued up to 24th March midnight, 1971.

What is the need for such exercise?

• Identify infiltrators: It effectively suggests bringing legislation that will enable the government to identify infiltrators who have been living in India illegally, detain them and finally deport them where they came from.
• It will target illegal immigrants in India:
• But Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh won’t be affected, if they claim they have arrived in India after fleeing religious persecution.
• 3 countries: It essentially means, if a nationwide NRC is implemented as proposed, any illegal immigrant from other than Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, will be affected. 
  • And as for those three nations, people coming from there who belong to the Muslim community will also be affected as they are not included in the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Is there any link between the CAA and NRC?

• There is no direct link between the CAA and NRC: The Citizenship Amendment Act is meant to help members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan until December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution, ensuring that they will not be treated as illegal immigrants and given Indian citizenship.
• Approval: The Act got the President of India’s approval in December 2019 after it was passed by both Houses of Parliament.
• Extension: The rules of this Act are yet to be framed and the Centre has sought the extension of the deadline until 2022 in the Supreme Court.
• The NRC: on the other hand is a process of valid Indian identification.

6.

Which countries (other than India) have such rules /Act which give citizenship to selective refugees on the bases of religion/ migrated minorities.

• In 1970, Israel took another historic step by granting automatic citizenship not only to Jews, but also to their non-Jewish children, grandchildren, and spouses, and to the non-Jewish spouses of their children and grandchildren. This addition not only ensured that families would not be broken apart, but also promised a safe haven in Israel for non-Jews subject to persecution because of their Jewish roots.

7.

Enlist some CAA related major protests in India during 2019?

Shaheen Bagh protest:

• The Shaheen Bagh protest was a peaceful sit-in protest in Delhi, India, that began on 15 December 2019 and lasted until 24 March 2020.
• The protest was led by women who blocked a major road at Shaheen Bagh using non-violent resistance 24×7.
• Mainly consisting of Muslim women, the protest began in response to the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on 11 December 2019.

Delhi riots:

• The 2020 Delhi riots were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and brought about chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims.
• The riots had their origin in Jaffrabad, in North East Delhi, where a sit-in by women against India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 had been in progress on a stretch of the Seelampur–Jafrabad–Maujpur road, blocking it.

8.

Why are some people protesting against CAA?

9.

Can there be any loss of citizenship to any community people due to CAA?

• "I want to tell the minorities of this country that no citizen of the country will lose citizenship due to CAA. The CAA is a law that grants citizenship and does not take away anyone's citizenship. I assure you there is no provision in CAA to snatch anyone's citizenship," – Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah.

10.

What are a few Myths associated with CAA?

11.

Why refugees from only Pakistan, Afghanistan & Bangladesh have been considered but not from other countries included.

12.

How many people will benefit from CAA?

14.

Was there any Judicial review of CAA?

• The CAA was challenged before the Supreme Court in 2020 by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Since then, more than 200 petitions have been filed and tagged with the IUML’s challenge.
• In October 2022, a Bench comprising then Chief Justice of India U U Lalit and Justices Ravindra Bhat and Hima Kohli passed an order stating that final hearings would begin in December 2022 after CJI Lalit’s retirement. However, the case has not been heard since.
• According to the Supreme Court website, the case is currently listed before a Bench headed by Justice Pankaj Mithal.

15.

Are there any exemptions given to areas under CAA?

• The provisions of the Act will not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland and Manipur that are protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP).
• This means that those ―illegal‖ migrants who will be deemed Indian citizens through the Act will not be able to settle down in the exempted areas.

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