debut: 2/16/17
35,084 runs
What is the Citizenship Amendment Act in India
A contentious citizenship legislation has been enacted in India, drawing extensive criticism for its exclusion of Muslims, a minority group whose apprehensions have intensified during the Hindu nationalist administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prior to December 31, 2014, Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians who migrated to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan are eligible for naturalization under the Citizenship Amendment Act. Muslim individuals, who constitute the plurality in all three countries, are excluded under the law.
It also amends the previous legislation that barres unauthorized immigrants from obtaining Indian citizenship and signifies India's inaugural establishment of religious requirements for citizenship in a nation that is ostensibly secular and has a religiously diverse populace.
The Indian government has announced that citizens who meet the requirements may submit their applications via an online portal.
The government of Narendra Modi has refuted claims that the legislation is discriminatory, instead justifying it as a humanitarian initiative.
It posits that the legislation's sole purpose is to grant citizenship to religious minorities who are attempting to escape persecution; it would not be relevant to Indian citizens.
Parliament of India authorized the legislation in 2019, but Modi's administration delayed its implementation.
The National Register of Citizens is an instrument utilized by the Modi administration to identify and expelling individuals whom it asserts entered India unlawfully.
While the register is presently operational solely in the northeastern state of Assam, Modi's political party has made a nationwide commitment to introduce an analogous citizenship verification program.
There are those who contend that in order for the law to effectively safeguard persecuted minorities, it ought to have encompassed Muslim religious minority groups that have been subjected to persecution within their own nations, such as the Rohingyas in Myanmar and the Ahmadis in Pakistan.
A contentious citizenship legislation has been enacted in India, drawing extensive criticism for its exclusion of Muslims, a minority group whose apprehensions have intensified during the Hindu nationalist administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prior to December 31, 2014, Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians who migrated to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan are eligible for naturalization under the Citizenship Amendment Act. Muslim individuals, who constitute the plurality in all three countries, are excluded under the law.
It also amends the previous legislation that barres unauthorized immigrants from obtaining Indian citizenship and signifies India's inaugural establishment of religious requirements for citizenship in a nation that is ostensibly secular and has a religiously diverse populace.
The Indian government has announced that citizens who meet the requirements may submit their applications via an online portal.
The government of Narendra Modi has refuted claims that the legislation is discriminatory, instead justifying it as a humanitarian initiative.
It posits that the legislation's sole purpose is to grant citizenship to religious minorities who are attempting to escape persecution; it would not be relevant to Indian citizens.
Parliament of India authorized the legislation in 2019, but Modi's administration delayed its implementation.
The National Register of Citizens is an instrument utilized by the Modi administration to identify and expelling individuals whom it asserts entered India unlawfully.
While the register is presently operational solely in the northeastern state of Assam, Modi's political party has made a nationwide commitment to introduce an analogous citizenship verification program.
There are those who contend that in order for the law to effectively safeguard persecuted minorities, it ought to have encompassed Muslim religious minority groups that have been subjected to persecution within their own nations, such as the Rohingyas in Myanmar and the Ahmadis in Pakistan.
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