CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT BILL 2019

CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955 [Act no. 57 of 1955]

This act provided the citizenship of India to the people at the time India received freedom and got its own constitution . The citizenship of India could have been acquired in 5 ways at that time according to Act no. 57 of 1955.

1.Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution of India
2.Citizenship by birth
3.Citizenship by Descent
4.Citizenship by registration
5.Citizenship by naturalization

AMENDMENTS SINCE THEN

After the bill was introduced in 1955 it has been amended 8 times. 

The major amendment being made in 2016 when the period of naturalization was reduced from 12 years to 6 years. Which means that a person to become a citizen of India naturally he/she has to reside in India for a period of 6 years which was previously 12 years.

Now the bill is being amended another time and the changes being made this time are:

1. The amendment bill 2019 states that a person who is refugee of Afghanistan, Pakistan           and Bangladesh can get the citizenship of India.

2. Provided he/she is a Hindu, Parsi, Sikh,Christian,Buddhists other than Muslim and Tamil      refugee from Sri lanka.

3.The Bill also proposes to incorporate a sub-section (d) to Section 7, providing for                   cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration where the OCI card-holder           has violated any provision of the Citizenship Act or any other law in force.

THE IDEA OF AMENDING IT

The bill was election promise made by BJP during 2014 and 2019 election rallies . The bill is aimed to contain the basic Hindutva ideology of the nation that shows Sarva Dharma Sambhav spirit of India.

WHAT IS CAB 2019 FINALLY??

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, that seeks to give Indian nationality to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan was passed in the Lok Sabha on 9 August. 

• The bill seeks to address the historical wrongdoings of religious persecution on Non-Muslim refugees from the three states by providing them Indian citizenship. 

• The proposed legislation amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis who got into India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for India.

Who is eligible?

• The proposed legislation applies to those who were “forced or compelled to seek shelter in India due to persecution on the ground of religion”.It aims to protect such people from proceedings of illegal migration. 
• The cut-off date for citizenship is December 31, 2014 which means the applicant should have entered India on or before that date.

Any exceptions to the Bill?

• CAB won't apply to areas under the sixth schedule of the Constitution – which deals with autonomous tribal-dominated regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. 

• The bill will also not apply to states that have the inner-line permit regime like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.

Why is there such a hue and cry?

The opposition says the Bill violates Article 14 of the Constitution — the Right to Equality. They claim that citizenship cannot be given on the basis of religion.

HIDDEN AGENDA OF OPPOSITION

The bill has drawn criticism over the fact that it violates the Article 14 stating Right to equality. The opposition is holding protest with dead spirits as they are lacking numbers to stop the passing of bill in Lok sabha and Rajya sabha. The only thing they want to make out from here is Politics in face of opposing it with none really concerned with refugees and only using them as a prop for their votes. By spreading misinformation that the bill bring changes in the culture and demographics of the north eastern states they just want to destabilize the government there. Without paying attention to the facts that most of the north eastern states fall under exception category where bill is not applicable.

MY VIEWS OVER SITUATION

The situation appears to be normal to people but the real problem is in north eastern states where false information is being spread in the name of the bill to incite the people against the government for mere politics. If the information is not channelized properly in North eastern states then it may lead to mass protests. 

But  the question is - Is the bill fair or not??  Will lead to different answers if thought with different ideologies. Therefore I leave the choice whether the decision is right or not on the reader by analyzing the facts and points given in this article.

Hope you all reach answers:)

JAI HIND JAI BHARAT