What is CAA:-
The Ministry of Home Affairs notified the public on March 11 about the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) to accelerate the process of giving citizenship to illegal non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, according to sources. CAA full form is the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Parliament enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019. The Act became legislation upon the approval of then-Indian President Ramnath Kovind.
What is CAA?
The Act provides citizenship to six minority groups (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian) who are escaping religious persecution in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Those who arrived in India from these nations on or before December 31, 2014, will be awarded citizenship. An update to the Citizenship Act of 1955 is the CAA. In six years, the migrants will receive fast-track Indian citizenship, according to CAA. Additionally, the legislation lowered the length of residency from eleven to five years to facilitate these migrants’ citizenship. This is different from the custom of requiring 12 years of residency to become a naturalized citizen. The CAA does not include Muslims as they do not constitute a minority in the nations listed.
Why only these three nations?
The Constitution of three nearby nations specifies a state religion, and the CAA addresses religious persecution in those countries. In these three nations, there has been persecution of adherents of different religions.
Who is the CAA going to affect?
There would be no effect of the CAA on Indian people. It’s solely implemented to help the six minorities that reside in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
How is the CAA going to award citizenship?
The applicants will find a portal convenient as the Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared it for an online application procedure. Applicants must provide the year of their undocumented entry into India. According to an official, no paperwork would be required from the candidates.
Whose application will the CAA take into account?
- Indian national requesting to be registered as an Indian citizen.
- The individual who is married to an Indian citizen and wants to register as such.
- Minor child of an Indian citizen, seeking registration as a citizen of India
- An individual requesting registration as an Indian citizen whose parents are registered as such.
- An individual wishing to register as an Indian citizen who was a citizen of Independent India, or either of their parents.
- Someone who has been registered with an Overseas Citizenship of India card.
What additional requirements must be met to get citizenship under the CAA?
In addition to fulfilling the aforementioned requirements, candidates for Indian citizenship must have continuously resided in India for at least 12 months before the application date. According to the announced regulations, candidates must reside in India for a minimum of six years in total during the eight years that precede the specified twelve-month period to be eligible for Indian citizenship.
Furthermore, the applicants must give a declaration that they wish to make India their permanent home and that they “irrevocably” relinquish their current citizenship. They will need to state clearly that they will never again claim the relinquished citizenship.
When candidates meet all requirements, what will happen?
Following clearance, all candidates will be required to swear an oath of loyalty in which they pledge to “bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India” as defined by law, as well as to “faithfully observe the laws of India” and “fulfill” their citizens’ obligations.
Is CAA associated with NRC?
The administration has made it clear that CAA and NRC are unrelated. Completed in 1951, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a database of Indian citizens. It remains within the deputy commissioners’ and sub-divisional officers’ administrative purview. Only Assam, a state facing difficulties as a result of illegal immigration, has implemented it thus far. The objective is to eliminate unauthorized arrivals and serve as a disincentive to future immigration.
