The Parliament of India has recently passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The aim of this bill is to offer Indian citizenship to individuals from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have moved to India after experiencing persecution on religious grounds in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The main purpose of the bill is to simplify the process for non-Muslim immigrants originating from India’s three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries to obtain Indian citizenship.
Background
The governance of citizenship within India is regulated by the Citizenship Act, 1955. According to this Act, there are five methods through which one can acquire Indian citizenship: birth in India, descent, registration, naturalisation (extended residence in India) and incorporation of territory into India. However, illegal migrants do not have the right to become Indian citizens. According to the Act, an illegal migrant is defined as a foreigner who either enters the country without valid travel documents such as a passport and visa or stays beyond the permitted time period after entering with valid documents.
The 2016 Bill to Amend the Citizenship Act
In 2015 and 2016, the government decided to exempt certain groups of illegal migrants from the laws enacted in 1946 and 1920. These groups were Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. This exemption allowed these categories of illegal migrants to avoid deportation or imprisonment for being in India without valid documents.
Following this exemption, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was introduced in Parliament to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, making these individuals eligible for Indian citizenship. However, the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha, leading to the introduction of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha in December 2019.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019: Key Features
The 2019 Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955, and for the first time, it allows granting citizenship based on religion to non-Muslim communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. However, migrants identifying themselves with any group or community other than those mentioned above from these countries will not be eligible for Indian citizenship.
| Non-Muslim Communities Included: | Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, Christian |
|---|---|
| Exemptions: | States protected by the ‘Inner Line’, Areas covered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution |
| Additional Ground for Cancelling OCI Registration: | Violation of any law notified by the central government |
Arguments Against and In Favour of The Bill
The primary criticism against the bill is that it targets Muslims specifically, violating the right to equality guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution and the principle of secularism. Other concerns include the exclusion of other refugee groups such as Tamils from Sri Lanka and Hindu Rohingya from Myanmar.
On the other hand, the government has justified the bill saying that Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are Islamic republics where Muslims form the majority, hence they cannot be treated as persecuted minorities. They have assured that any application from any other community will be examined on a case-to-case basis. There’s a strong sentiment that this bill will be a major relief for all those people who have been victims of the Partition and the subsequent conversion of these three countries into theocratic Islamic republics.