Assuming Secularism: The prism of

Citizezenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

(CAA)

INTRODUCTION
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 , an act passed by the parliament to provide expedited
citizenship to undocumented immigrants belonging to specific religious minorities from
neighboring countries who entered India before December 31, 2014. However the Act excludes
Muslims from its purview and in its definition of undocumented immigrants as well as
minorities and only includes Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

CITIZENSHIP UNDER CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.

The articles 5-11 of the constitution concerning the citizenship of India provides specific
category of rules for migrants to acquire the citizenship of India and also provide rules about
people who should be considered as the citizen of India and people who should not be
considered as the citizen of India.

ART.5
At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of
India and—

(a) who was born in the territory of India; or

(b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or

(c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years
immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India.

ART.6
Notwithstanding anything in article 5, a person who has migrated to the territory of India from
the territory now included in Pakistan shall be deemed to be a citizen of India at the
commencement of this Constitution if—
(a) he or either of his parents or any of his grandparents was born in India as defined in the
Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted); and

(b) (i) in the case where such person has so migrated before the nineteenth day of July, 1948, he
has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India since the date of his migration, or

(ii) in the case where such person has so migrated on or after the nineteenth day of July, 1948,
he has been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed in that behalf by the
Government of the Dominion of India on an application made by him therefor to such officer
before the commencement of this Constitution in the form and manner prescribed by that
Government:

Provided that no person shall be so registered unless he has been resident in the territory of
India for at least six months immediately preceding the date of his application.

ART.7
Notwithstanding anything in articles 5 and 6, a person who has after the first day of March,
1947, migrated from the territory of India to the territory now included in Pakistan shall not be
deemed to be a citizen of India:

Provided that nothing in this article shall apply to a person who, after having so migrated to the
territory now included in Pakistan, has returned to the territory of India under a permit for
resettlement or permanent return issued by or under the authority of any law and every such
person shall for the purposes of clause (b) of article 6 be deemed to have migrated to the
territory of India after the nineteenth day of July, 1948.

ART.8
Notwithstanding anything in article 5, any person who or either of whose parents or any of
whose grandparents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as
originally enacted), and who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as so defined
shall be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the
diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where he is for the time being
residing on an application made by him therefor to such diplomatic or consular representative,
whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, in the form and manner
prescribed by the Government of the Dominion of India or the Government of India.
Rules and eligiblity criteria for citizenship under CAA,2019.
The act offers citizenship to undocumented people belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi,
Christian and Jain community from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The applicants will have to produce an eligibility certificate issued by a locally reputed
community institution confirming that he/she belongs to Hindu/ Sikh/ Buddhist/ Jain/ Parsi/
Christian community and continues to be a member of the above mentioned community.

The applicants are also required to provide evidence of the date of birth of the parents such as
a copy of the passport or birth certificate. “In case of non-availability of passport of mother/
father, birth certificate of the applicant clearly indicating the name, address and nationality of
mother/ father” is to be submitted.

Since the cut-off date for CAA is december 31, 2014, to prove that the applicant seeking
citizenship under Section 6B of CAA, 2019 entered India before the particular date will have to
provide another set of documents such as copy of passport, visa, slip issued by Census
enumerators, PAN card, electricity bill, insurance policy. The rule says that the documents
should have been issued by an Indian authority and will be admissible even beyond their
validity period.

CAA exempts the members of the six communities from any criminal case under Foreigners
Act, 1946 and Passport Act, 1920 which specify punishment for entering the country illegally
and staying on expired visas and permits and any proceeding pending against a person under
section 6B of CAA in respect of illegal migration or citizenship shall stand abated on conferment
of citizenship to him. That such person shall not be disqualified for making application for
citizenship under section 6B of CAA, on the ground that the proceeding is pending against him.

For those applying for naturalisation under the provisions of the Third Schedule of CAA will
have to submit an affidavit verifying the correctness of the statements made in the application
along with an affidavit from an Indian citizen testifying the character of the applicant. A
declaration is required from the applicant that he has adequate knowledge of one of the
languages as specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, the rules said, with an
explanation that adequate knowledge would mean if he or she can speak or read or write that
language.

The rules state that the will have to provide six types of documents and specify date of entry in
India i.e birth certificate, tenancy records, identity papers, any licence, school or educational
certificate issued by a government authority in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The users will have to register on the portal https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in or on a
mobile application CAA-2019 . All documents along with photographs are to be uploaded
online and the applications will be processed after a background check by security agencies.

The plea for citizenship will be online and an head committee, through a district-level
committee, will scrutinise all applications.

The rules add that the applicant will have to appear in person to subscribe the application and
take oath of allegiance, failing which the district-level committee may recommend refusal.

Trajectory of The ACT and India’s Approch Towards Citizenship and

Immigrants.

Partition of India (1947):

The partition of British India in 1947 resulted in the creation of the independent nations of
India and Pakistan. This historic event led to massive population exchanges with millions of
Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims migrating to and from the newly formed countries. Giving rise to the
sigma of seperate nation for Hindus and Muslims.

Indian Constitution (1950):

The Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, laid down the framework for citizenship in India. It
defined who would be considered a citizen of India and outlined the principles governing
citizenship acquisition, including by birth, descent, registration, or naturalization.

Immigration and Citizenship Acts:

Over the years, India has enacted various laws related to immigration and citizenship, including
the Citizenship Act of 1955 and the Foreigners Act of 1946. These laws govern the acquisition
and determination of Indian citizenship, as well as the entry, stay, and deportation of foreigners
in India.

Assam Accord (1985):

A memorandum of understanding signed between the Government of India and leaders of the
Assam Movement in 1985. One of its key provisions was the detection and deportation of illegal
immigrants from Assam, primarily those who had entered the state from Bangladesh after
March 24, 1971.
National Register of Citizens (NRC):
A register containing the names of genuine Indian citizens in the state of Assam. The process of
updating the NRC began in 2013 under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India and aimed
to identify individuals who could prove their citizenship through documentary evidence.

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (2016):

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) was introduced in the Indian Parliament in 2016. It
sought to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 to grant citizenship to undocumented immigrants
belonging to specified religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
However, the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.

REINTRODUCTION OF CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT BILL:

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was reintroduced in the Parliament of India in 2019 and was
subsequently passed by both houses of Parliament. It became law after receiving the assent of
the President of India on December 12, 2019, and was officially published as the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.

PROPONENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE ACT

The proposed and argued benefits such as protection of minorities, providing lifeline to
individuals fleeing religious prosecution, rectifying past wrongs faced by religious minorities in
the Indian subcontinent particularly in the aftermath of partition in 1947, contribution to
national security, promoting religious freedom. All such supporting arguments are valid having
their diplomatic positioning.

PROPONENTS AGAINST THE ACT

The main highlighted point that created the controversy around the nation is the exclusion of
muslims from its purview which gives rise to various questions against the sancitity and
secularity of the Act as well as the constituion of India. The Exclusion of muslims give rise to
points such as violation of secularism, potenetial for statelessness as the combination of the CAA
and NRC could render many Muslims stateless and it has heightened communal tensions and
undermined social cohesion as its enactments is believed to be polarized.

CONCLUSION
As we the the trajectory of the people of India and India itself they were divided on the basis of
religion i.e muslims were given a seperate nation of their own to avoid the foreseen disputes
and put an end to the communal riots that were taking place before and after the partition of
India in 1947.

The partition has created a stigma of seperate nation for Muslims, the Citizenship (Amendment)
Act,2019 has drawbacks as to affecting the muslim families who lost their documents regrading
their identity such as birth certificates during the partition, leaving them helpless to get
registered via National Registar of Citizens (NRC) that may render them as illegal immigrants
through CAA and NRC implementation.

The Act may have flaws and drawbacks but as for now being passed by both the houses and
implemented as per the law, the Act can serve the purpose for which it has been enacted i.e
National security, protection of minorities and providing a lifeline to individulas fleeing
religious prosecution.