Decoding Citizenship Amendment Act that sparked nationwide protests

On 12th December 2019, the Indian government passed the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA that sparked nationwide protests.

The law provided for an accelerated path to citizenship for illegal migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Muslims were excluded. This exclusion drew criticism from various corners as the law was perceived to be discriminatory on the basis of religion.

The BJP-led central government argued that the amendment to the Citizenship Act was designed this way to safeguard minorities facing persecution in the three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries.

However, the benefit was not extended to minorities facing persecution in other neighbouring countries. The law made no mention of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, Tamils from Sri Lanka and Tibetans from Nepal.

Moreover, what added to the concerns was the government’s plan to roll out a National Register of Citizens that would record details of all Indian citizens. This sparked fears that those excluded from the NRC, the non-citizens or immigrants, could face deportation.

Combined with CAA, the NRC assumed special significance. It was perceived that those excluded from NRC would be protected by the CAA as it grants citizenship to migrants who entered India before 2014. But since the Act was meant only for non-Muslims, it was feared that the Muslim refugees would be at risk of deportation.