In the news

• Just days ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha election, the Union Home Ministry notified the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024.
• This would now enable the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by Parliament in 2019.

Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019: Key Provisions

• Basic idea: CAA, 2019, aims to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to grant Indian citizenship to specific categories of illegal migrants.
• Eligible Religions: CAA targets Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, making them eligible for Indian citizenship.
• Objective: The primary objective is to facilitate citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from India’s three Muslim-majority neighboring countries.
• Residence Requirement: The Citizenship Act, 1955, normally requires 11 of the previous 14 years of residence in India as a condition for naturalization.
• Amendment: CAA reduces this requirement to 6 years for applicants belonging to the specified religions and countries.
• Exemption from Criminal Cases: Members of the designated communities are exempted from criminal cases under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Passport Act, 1920, if they entered India before December 31, 2014.

Defining Illegal Migrants

• Status under Present Laws: Existing laws prohibit illegal migrants from acquiring Indian citizenship.
• CAA’s Definition: CAA classifies an illegal migrant as a foreigner who enters India without valid travel documents (passport and visa) or overstays beyond the allowed period.
• Penalties: Illegal migrants can face imprisonment or deportation under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

Exceptions under CAA

• Conditions for Exemption: CAA outlines four conditions that, if met, exempt certain individuals from being treated as illegal migrants:
  1. They belong to the specified religions (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian).
  2. They hail from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan.
  3. They entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
  4. They are not in certain tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura (Sixth Schedule) or “Inner Line” permit areas (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland).

Controversies Surrounding CAA

• Country of Origin: CAA categorizes migrants based on their country of origin, specifically Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
• Religious Exclusivity: It raises questions about why only six specified religious minorities have been considered in the Act.
• Omission of Rohingya: The Act doesn’t address the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, who have faced persecution.
• Entry Date Differentiation: The differential treatment of migrants based on their entry date, i.e., before or after December 31, 2014, has generated debate.
• Secularism Concerns: Critics argue that granting citizenship based on religion contradicts the secular principles of India’s Constitution, considered part of the unalterable basic structure.

Constitutionality Check

• The challenge may rest primarily on the grounds that the law violates Article 14 of the Constitution that guarantees that no person shall be denied the right to equality before law or the equal protection of law in the territory of India.
• The Supreme Court has developed a Two-Pronged Test to examine a law on the grounds of Article 14.

1. First, any differentiation between groups of persons must be founded on “intelligible differentia”
2. Second, differentia must have a rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the Act

• Simply put, for a law to satisfy the conditions under Article 14, it has to first create a “reasonable class” of subjects that it seeks to govern under the law.
• Even if the classification is reasonable, any person who falls in that category has to be treated alike.

Impact on Assam and Assam Accord

• Intersection with Section 6A: The CAA intersects with Section 6A of The Citizenship Act, 1955, which determines citizenship criteria in Assam.
• Assam Accord: Section 6A, linked to the Assam Accord, sets criteria for determining citizenship in Assam, posing potential conflicts with the CAA’s provisions.
• Base Cut-off Date and Regularization: The Assam Accord establishes a base cut-off date for identifying and regularizing foreigners in Assam, impacting the implementation of the CAA in the state.

Way forward

• India is a constitutional democracy with a basic structure that assures a secure and spacious home for all Indians.
• Being partitioned on religious grounds, India has to undertake a balancing act to protect the religious minorities in its neighbourhood.
• These minorities are under constant threat of persecution and vandalism.
• India needs to balance its civilization duties to protect those who are prosecuted in the neighbourhood.

Try this PYQ from CSE Prelims 2021:

Q.With reference to India, consider the following statements:​

1. There is only one citizenship and one domicile.​
2. A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.​
3. A foreigner once granted the citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.​

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?​

(a) 1 only ​

(b) 2 only​

(c) 1 and 3 ​

(s) 2 and 3​

Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024

Attend Now