Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 Current Affairs - 2020
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Lok Sabha. The protests have erupted in Assam against the passage of the bill. The people of Assam fear that the amendment bill undermines the Assam Accord of 1985.
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to amend the citizenship Act, 1955. The features of the amendment bill are:
- The bill aims to grant Indian citizenship to all persecuted religious minorities like Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis from three neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- The bill is applicable to all states and union territories of the country and the beneficiaries of the can reside in any part of the country.
- The bill when passed would provide a big relief to the persecuted migrants who have come through western borders of the country to States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and other states.
As per the reports, the government would set the cut off date at December 31, 2014, to provide citizenship to persecuted religious minorities.
Addressing the concerns against the Bill
The Union Home Minister provided the following assurance to allay fears about the bill:
- The burden of the persecuted migrants will be shared by the entire country and not by Assam alone.
- The Union Home Minister also assured full support for the state governments in the implementation of the bill.
Protestors led by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) in Assam have imposed an economic blockade and have said that they would not allow locally produced oil, petroleum products, coal, forest products and limestone to be taken out of the state.
On December 4, 2019, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) bill, for the bill to be tabled in Lok Sabha. The bill is being tabled amidst widespread protests in the north eastern states.
Key Features
The bill aims at providing Indian citizenship to 6 minority communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The communities are Hindu, Christian, Sikhs, Buddhist and Jain. Currently for a person to get Indian citizenship, he should have resided in the country for 11 years. The bill intends to amend this as 6 years.
Concerns
The bill has not included Muslim community. This according to the opposition is violation of Article 14 that legalizes equality before law. The article states that the government shall show no discrimination on grounds of religion, caste, race, sex or birth.
The Illegal Migrants factor
According the Citizenship Act, 1955, illegal migrants can either be sent to jail or back to their own countries. In Assam, the protest is on rights and livelihood of ethnic communities on passage of the bill. After the bill is passed, thousands of illegal migrants will be deported according to Assam Accord. According to Assam Accord that was signed in 1985, foreigners who entered Indian soil after March 24, 1971 shall be deported.
In Mizoram, the protests are by the illegal Buddhist Chakma immigrants who were displaced by the construction of Kaptai dam on the Karnaphuli river in 1962. The Nagaland Tribes Council and Naga Students Federations sees the bill as a threat to political future of their identity.
There are protests in Manipur in the fear of the state becoming a dumping ground to foreigners
In Tripura the Kokborok community has reduced to 33% of the population of the state. Initially the state was dominated by the community with 80% of the population. Tripural believes that this condition will worsen of the bill is passed.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 9, 2019. It was passed on the same day in Lok Sabha.
Contents
What are the objectives of the Citizenship Act,1955?
The bill is re-introduced to amend The Citizenship Act, 1955, which was enacted to provide for the acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship i.e. to regulate who can acquire Indian citizenship and on what basis.
The original act states that a person may become an Indian citizen if
- they are born in India or
- have Indian parents or
- resided in the country for a period of time, etc.
But the Indian citizenship is not provided to illegal migrants. An illegal migrant is a foreigner who
- enters the country without valid travel documents or
- enters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted period.
The Indian Government can imprison or deport illegal migrants under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.
A foreigner may register as an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) under the 1955 Act if they are of Indian origin or the spouse of a person of Indian origin. They have the right to travel to India, to work and study in India.
What is the need of the amendment?
During the partition of 1947, several citizens of undivided India of various religions were staying in the regions of Pakistan and Bangladesh. The constitutions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have provisions for a specific state religion. Therefore many persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities have faced discrimination on grounds of religion in those countries. Many such persons fled to India and continued to stay in India.
Under the existing provisions of the Act (section 5 or section 6), those people belonging to the above-said religions and countries who entered India without valid travel documents or with expired documents are regarded as illegal migrants and they are ineligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
What are the previous initiatives of the Government?
The Centre, in 2015 and 2016 issued two notifications exempting some groups of illegal migrants from the above mentioned 1946 and the 1920 Acts. The groups are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who came to India on or before 31.12.2014.
This means that these groups of illegal migrants will not be deported or imprisoned for being in India without valid documents.
Later in 2016, the Central Government also made them eligible for long term visa to stay in India.
Is this the first time the amendment bill being introduced?
In 2016, a similar bill was introduced to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, which sought the extension of citizenship to the migrants of six religions of the three countries and to revise the provisions of OCI card holders. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on January 8, 2019. But as the 16th Lok Sabha was dissolved, the bill lapsed.
What are the new amendments?
- The new bill is passed to provide Indian citizenship to the illegal migrants, who are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and are
- Hindus
- Sikhs
- Buddhists
- Jains
- Parsis and
- Christians
- The Bill seeks to amend the act to allow cancellation of OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) registration if the person has violated any provision of the act or any law in force in India. A provision is also to be added where the OCIs are given opportunity to be heard in courts before the cancellation.
- The Bill says that on acquiring citizenship:
- such persons shall be regarded as Indian citizens from the date of their entry into India, and
- all legal proceedings against them related to their illegal migration or citizenship will be closed.
- The bill also proposes to amend the 3rd Schedule to the Act, to make the applicants of the aforesaid religions and countries eligible for citizenship by naturalisation if they can prove their residency in India for five years instead of the existing eleven years.
- The illegal migrants who have entered into India up to the cut of date of 31.12.2014 shall be granted the certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation and they may be given the citizenship of India from the date of their entry in India if they fulfil the conditions.
What are the exemptions?
The Bill adds that the provisions on citizenship for illegal migrants will not apply to
- the tribal areas of Karbi Anglong (Assam), Garo Hills (Meghalaya), Chakma District (Mizoram), and Tripura Tribal Areas District and
- the areas under the Inner Line Regulation, whose permit regulates the visit of Indians to Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
Why is the bill opposed?
The prime opposition voice is that the act violates the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.
Many severe resistances and oppositions are seen against the bill as it is seen to show disparity to illegal migrants on the following grounds:
- Their country of origin: The Bill chooses to extend the citizenship only to non-Muslims from three nations with a Muslim majority The Bill classifies migrants based on their country of origin to include only Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is not clear why migrants from these countries are differentiated from migrants from other neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
- Religion: Instead of the term “persecuted minorities”, the bill lists the six religions which clearly excluded Muslims. Recently the people of Tamil Eelam and Rohingya Muslims are seen fleeing to India and taking refuge here. It fails to allow Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims to apply for citizenship, who also face persecution in Pakistan. It is not clear why illegal migrants belonging to religious minorities from these countries have been excluded from the Bill.
- Date of entry into India: It is also unclear why there is a differential treatment of migrants based on their date of entry into India and the cut off date of 31.12.2014 is being fixed.
- Place of residence in India: Though the Bill further seeks to protect the constitutional guarantee given to indigenous populations of North Eastern States covered under the Sixth Schedule, it excludes illegal migrants residing in those areas, which are the notified tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
- OCI cancellation: There is no clear regulation about the nature of the laws, which when violated lead to the cancellation of OCI registration.
Despite all these oppositions from various segments of the country, the government reiterates that there is no discrimination shown between the people. The subsequent implications may be visible only after the act is implemented across the country.
The Kerala Government on December 31, 2019, passed a resolution to rollback the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that was passed during this winter session of Parliament. According to the Kerala Government, the CAA act contradicts the basic principles of Constitution.
Highlights
According to the Government of Kerala, the act was against secularism and has triggered widespread protests in the country. The act also dented India’s image among the International community
The act and the issue
The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed in December 2019. The act amended Citizenship act passed in 1955. It allows Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Parsi religious minorities to gain Indian citizenship. It also includes the minorities who have fled from countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The issue around the act is that it does not include Muslims.
The Citizenship (Amendment) bill was introduced in 2016.
Concerns of North East
Though the ongoing protests in the country is predominantly against its non-secular feature, North Eastern states are against the overall act. The north-eastern citizens, especially Assam, fear that the act will grant citizenship to immigrants and refugees causing loss of their political, cultural and land rights. This will also motivate further immigration from Bangladesh.
On January 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of India said that Right of access to internet is a fundamental right. The Court had asked the administration of Jammu and Kashmir to review the curbs on internet in a week.
Lately the Indian Government had been using internet shut down as a tool to control protest in the country against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. It was predominant in the north eastern states.
Contents
Highlights
A three-member bench of the apex court heard on a batch of pleas against complete blockage of internet in Kashmir. Kashmir was shut out of internet for five months now, since abrogation of Article 370.
The bench pronounced that freedom of speech and expression and freedom to practice any business or trade over internet is constitutionally protected under Article 19 (1).
The judgement also read that Section 144 CrPC shall not be used to suppress freedom of speech and expression.
2016 UN Resolution
In 2016, the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) released a resolution that condemned disruption of internet access by government. Before passing the resolution UN quoted that there were 15 internet shut downs in 2015 and 20 in 2017. The UN referred to internet ban in Turkey after terrorist attacks, internet shut down in India after local protests and internet blockage in Algeria.
On January 29, 2020, the European Parliament is set to discuss the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
Highlights
Though the resolution made by the parliament do not affect the decision of the European Council or commission, it might impinge the bilateral relations between India and European Union. PM Modi is to visit Brussels in March 2020 to attend India-EU summit and the External Affairs Minister is scheduled to visit in mid-February.
Six Resolutions
Around six resolutions are to be taken up for discussion in the EU Parliament. It includes
- Implementation of NRC in Assam and the security lock down in Jammu and Kashmir
- Resolution moved by the S&D Group is one of largest resolution with 154 members supporting it. According to the resolution, the CAA has the potential to create largest statelessness crisis in the world. S&D group is the Socialist and Democratic Group
- The resolution by EPP Group with 182 members supporting it says that the law could have negative international image for India. The EPP Group is the European People’s Party Group.
India’s Measures
The Lok Sabha Speaker has written to the European Parliament requesting the EU parliament to respect sovereign processes of fellow legislatures.
Also, India believes that CAA is an internal matter and is not yet settled within India. There are more than 20 pending cases on CAA in the Supreme Court.
However, there has not been any official response towards EU’s move from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Supreme Court on CAA
The Supreme Court on January 22, 2020 pronounced its decision on CAA without hearing the case. The apex court has given 4 weeks for the centre to respond to the petitions that challenged CAA.
India-EU relations
The European Union is India’s largest trading partner. The European Union account to 92 billion Euros (2018-19) of trade. It accounts to 18% of Indian Exports
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