On March 11, the Home Ministry notified the Citizenship Amendment Act's (CAA) rules in the country. The legislation enables individuals from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi backgrounds who are refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to obtain Indian citizenship. 

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed in Parliament in December 2019. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on December 9 while the Rajya Sabha passed it on December 11. The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 and seeks to make foreign illegal migrants of certain religious communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship, according to PRS Legislative Research. 

Until now, citizenship is regulated by the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Act specifies that citizenship may be acquired in India through five criteria – by birth in India, by descent, through registration, by naturalisation (extended residence in India), and by incorporation of the territory into India. The new law introduces religion as the sixth method to acquire citizenship in India. 

The Bill proposes that the specified class of illegal migrants from the three countries - Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan - will not be treated as illegal migrants, making them eligible for citizenship. These migrants will become Indian citizens from the date of their entry into India. All legal proceedings regarding their status as illegal migrants or their citizenship will be closed. 

The refugee has to fulfill some qualifications. One of the qualifications is that the person must have resided in India or been in central government service for the last 12 months and at least 11 years of the preceding 14 years. For the specified class of illegal migrants, the number of years of residency has been relaxed to five years. 

The proposed amendments on citizenship for illegal migrants will not apply to certain areas, according to the Bill. These include the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The exceptions also include the states regulated by the “Inner Line" permit under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations 1873.  

These Sixth Schedule tribal areas include Karbi Anglong (in Assam), Garo Hills (in Meghalaya), Chakma District (in Mizoram), and Tripura Tribal Areas District. Further, the Inner Line Permit regulates the visit of all persons, including Indian citizens, to Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland. 

The Bill also made amendments to provisions related to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders. A foreigner may register as an OCI under the 1955 Act if they are of Indian origin or the spouse of a person of Indian origin. This will entitle them to benefits such as the right to travel to India, and to work and study in the country. 

The law has amended the Act to allow cancellation of OCI registration if the person has violated any law notified by the central government. The law has generated criticism for being against minorities. But Shah in his Rajya Sabha speech had said the Bill was not against any minority in India and the rights of each India Citizen would be equally protected. The home minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was committed to protecting the rights of each citizen of the country. 

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