The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 is a proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to certain non-citizens who are facing religious persecution in their country of origin. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs on July 19, 2016.
Overview of Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016
The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 seeks to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide Indian citizenship to persons belonging to certain specified religions and countries who have been living in India for at least six years. The Bill is applicable to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
Key Provisions of Bill 2016
The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to provide that the persons belonging to the six specified religions, who have come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to India on or before December 31, 2014, shall not be treated as illegal immigrants.
The Bill also provides that such persons shall be given Indian citizenship after residing in India for six years, instead of the current eleven years.
The Bill also seeks to make changes to the provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946 to provide for the exemption of these persons from the relevant provisions of the two Acts.
The Bill also provides that the Central Government may cancel the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders if they violate any law.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 seeks to provide Indian citizenship to persons belonging to certain specified religions and countries who are facing religious persecution in their country of origin. The Bill is applicable to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. The Bill seeks to make changes to the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the two other Acts to provide the exemption of these persons from the relevant provisions of the two Acts.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 is a proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, of the Indian Constitution that seeks to provide citizenship to the persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, on July 19th, 2016. The primary objective of this legislation is to grant Indian citizenship to the members of these minority communities who have been denied basic rights and have been residing in India for a period of at least six years without any admission or registration papers.
The amendment proposes to nullify or relax the residency requirement for members of the minority communities from the three countries. With this provision, those belonging to these communities who are living in India since December 31st, 2014 would no longer need to meet the ‘continuous residence’ criterion of eleven years. Furthermore, they shall be subjected to a lesser ‘naturalization’ period of 5 years as opposed to the standard 11 years period.
The bill has been welcomed by some members of the political and religious communities as a way to provide equal rights to the persecuted minorities from the three countries. However, the bill has been met with criticism from many who fear that it would result in increased illegal immigration from these countries into India. They are of the opinion that providing citizenship to these immigrants could cause a destabilization of the economic and social dynamics of the country.
The proponents of the bill point out that given the current situation of these persecuted minorities and the threat of religious persecution in these countries, it is prudent for India to step forward and extend assistance in any way that it can. Furthermore, given that these minority communities would already be present in India since the cut-off date, not allowing them to acquire Indian citizenship would be a big injustice.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 is still in the process of getting passed and is likely to witness further discussions, debates, and modifications before it can be finalized. It remains to be seen how the bill will be implemented and if at all it will provide much-needed help to the persecuted minority communities.