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Citizenship Act rules get ready
Why in news?
- Union Home Ministry recently made clear that no migrant from the six non-Muslim communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan & Bangladesh “will become Indian citizen automatically”.
More in news
- Clarifications stated by MHA:
(1) Qualifications: A migrant should apply online & the competent authority would see whether he/she fulfilled all qualifications for registration or naturalisation as an Indian citizen.
(2) Centre will frame rules: to operationalise the provisions of CAA which proposes to grant citizenship to “persecuted” minorities from any of the 3 countries who entered India on or before Dec 31, 2014.
(3) Alleged Apprehensions: The Act, followed by a country-wide National Register of Citizens, will benefit non-Muslims, while excluded Muslims will have to prove their citizenship.
(4) CAA does not target any religious community from abroad: It only provides a mechanism for some migrants who may have otherwise been called ‘illegal’ depriving them of opportunity to apply for Indian citizenship provided they meet certain conditions.
(4) Citizenship Act, 1955, which was amended recently, provides:
(a) Indian citizenship could be acquired by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation or by incorporation of territory.
(b) Any foreigner on becoming eligible can acquire citizenship by registration or by naturalisation irrespective of his country or his community.
(c) CAA enables migrants/foreigners of six minority communities from three specified countries who have come to India because of persecution on grounds of their religion to apply for Indian citizenship.
(d) It does not amend any existing legal provision which enables any foreigner of any class, creed, religion, category etc to apply for Indian citizenship through registration or naturalisation modes.
(e) Such a foreigner has to become eligible to apply for citizenship after fulfilling minimum legal requirements.
- CAA does not apply to Indian citizens and they are completely unaffected by it.
- Indian Citizenship granted:
(1) In the past 6 years, 2,830 Pakistani citizens, 912 Afghan citizens and 172 Bangladeshi citizens were given citizenship & “hundreds of them are from the majority community of these three countries”.
(2) Such migrants continue to get Indian citizenship and shall also continue to get it if they fulfil the eligibility conditions already provided in the law for registration or naturalisation.
- Citizenship to Tamils:
Sources
The Hindu