How The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 will Function?

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The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 of India is a legislation that will amend the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 proposes granting Indian citizenship to the persecuted minorities such as Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis, fleeing from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The legislation seeks to make it easier for non-Muslim refugees and illegal immigrants from the three Islamic majority nations, to gain Indian citizenship.

The legislation is applicable to groups who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. It seeks to make it easier for non-Muslim refugees and illegal immigrants from the three Islamic majority nations, to gain Indian citizenship.

The Citizenship Act, 1955 regulates who may acquire Indian citizenship and on what grounds. A person may become an Indian citizen if they are born in India or have Indian parentage or have resided in the country for a period of time, etc. However, illegal migrants are prohibited from acquiring Indian citizenship. An illegal migrant is a foreigner who: (i) enters the country without valid travel documents, like a passport and visa, or (ii) enters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.

Photo-1 : Procession against CAB

Under The Citizenship Act, 1955, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, as well as for 11 of the previous 14 years. The amendment relaxes the second requirement from 11 years to 6 years as a specific condition for applicants belonging to these six religions, and the aforementioned three countries.

Consequences of acquiring citizenship: The Bill says that on acquiring citizenship: (i) such persons shall be deemed to be citizens of India from the date of their entry into India, and (ii)    all legal proceedings against them in respect of their illegal migration or citizenship will be closed.

The north-eastern states are against the Bill as they believe it will lead to a greater influx of illegal migrants. In the North-eastern states, the prospect of citizenship for massive numbers of illegal migrants has triggered deep anxieties, including fears of demographic change, loss of livelihood opportunities, and erosion of the indigenous culture.

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