CAA RULES NOTIFIED

The Central Government has officially notified the rules for the implementation of CAA on Monday, March 11, 2024.

What is CAA?

1. CAA stands for Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019.
2. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide a faster route to get Indian citizenship for religious minorities facing persecution in their countries if they arrived in India by December 31, 2014.
3. Normally, Indian citizenship can be provided to someone if he/she has lived in India for 12 years continuously (including the 12 months right before applying and a total of 11 years within a span of 14 years), and they fulfil all the criteria listed in the Citizenship Act's 3rd schedule.
4. But, CAA has reduced this period to only 6 years. However, it applies only to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, or Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
5. Under the CAA, an illegal migrant is someone who comes into India without the proper travel papers (like a passport and visa) or stays longer than they're permitted.

What are the Exceptions given under the CAA?

1. The rules about citizenship for illegal migrants won't affect certain tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, as they are part of the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
   1. The 6th Schedule was introduced to protect the rights and autonomy of tribal communities living in specific regions.
2. It will also not affect the Inner Line Permit (ILP) areas. are places where you need special permission to enter or stay if you're not from there.
   1. It's a way to keep track of who comes in and out, helping protect the local culture and environment.
   2. Currently, ILP exists in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Lakshadweep.

What are the Concerns Related to CAA?

1. Issues in the North-East:

   1. This amendment goes against the Assam Accord of 1985, which promised to send back illegal migrants from Bangladesh who entered Assam after March 25, 1971, regardless of their religion.
   2. With an estimated 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam, they have significantly changed the state's population makeup and strained its resources and economy. Also, such immigration leads to changes in the cultural identity of the region.
   3. Critics fear that this change will make all the hard work put into updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) pointless.

2. Constitutionality:

   1. Critics say the law goes against Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensures the right to equality for both citizens and foreigners.
   2. They also argue that it contradicts the principle of secularism outlined in the Preamble. The term persecuted minority only could have been used instead of specifying the religions.
   3. Also, people might be persuaded to convert to 6 religions eligible for citizenship under CAA.

3. Exclusionary nature of law:

   1. Critics say the CAA doesn't include persecuted atheists and Jews, raising fairness concerns.
   2. It also leaves out persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

4. Federal Issue: States like Kerala have refused to implement CAA highlighting a conflict between the State and Centre.

What is the National Register of Citizens (NRC)?

1. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a government list that keeps track of who is a citizen of a particular country.
2. It is designed to identify and document legal citizens to distinguish them from illegal immigrants.
3. Assam created such a list in 1951 based on the 1951 census data, due to its unique problem of facing illegal immigration from Bangladesh. However, it was not maintained afterwards.
4. BJP had promised to implement the NRC for all of India in their election promises in 2019 and even Home Minister Amit Shah announced the same in the Rajya Sabha on November 19, 2019.
5. Many saw the relationship of CAA and NRC in such a way that non-Muslims will be provided citizenship whereas Muslims will fail the criteria for inclusion in NRC leading to their loss of citizenship.

What is the Stand of Government?

1. CAA aims to grant citizenship rather than taking it away from anyone.
2. The bill provides relief to those affected by the Partition and subsequent conversion of the 3 countries into Islamic republics.
3. Muslims in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, cannot be considered persecuted minorities as these are Muslim-majority countries with a state religion as Islam.
4. India has absorbed the minorities from its neighbourhood in the past acknowledging it as its responsibility to do so. For example -
   1. Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan at the time of the Partition of India (1947)
   2. Bangladeshi Hindus during times of political unrest in East Pakistan in 1971
5. Citizenship has been granted to refugees from various countries in the past on a case-by-case basis. Hence, only 3 countries are considered at this time.
6. The government notified the High-Level Committee (HLC) to implement the Assam Accord and preserve the identity of Assam.

Conclusion: Now, it's up to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of CAA and its provisions. However, India has a moral responsibility to help those persecuted in neighbouring countries.

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