Last week, India’s Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill fundamentally changing the country’s Citizenship Act of 1955 — which set off protests in the northeastern states and military deployment in the country. The Bill amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to give eligibility for Indian citizenship to illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. The bill does not include Muslims.
The Washington Post breaks down everything you need to know about the bill and how it affects the Muslim-Indian population.
What is the Citizenship Amendment Bill?
The law changes India’s naturalization process for acquiring citizenship, amending the law that previously prohibited “illegal immigrants” — those who enter the country without proper documentation, or outstay their visas — from becoming Indian citizens. The 2019 amendment allows Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsees and Christians who migrated to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to become citizens
The amendment leaves Muslims off the list of protected groups, however. Many political analysts and human rights experts argue that the government designed the law explicitly to exclude Muslim asylum seekers from the possibility of acquiring refugee status in India and, eventually, citizenship.
Background
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government introduced the bill during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term, but Parliament failed to pass the bill at the time. The BJP reintroduced last Monday and it cleared both the Lok Sabha (lower house) and the Rajya Sabha (upper house). President Ram Nath Kovind signed the bill into law last Thursday.
What are the implications of using religious criteria for citizenship?
BJP leaders justify excluding Muslims, countering that the goal is to aid victims of religious persecution in their home countries. A government official noted that Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh cannot, by definition, face persecution because these are Muslim-majority countries.
Legal scholars view this law as unconstitutional and argue that it violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian constitution: Article 14 guarantees equal protection for all, and Article 15 prevents discrimination on the basis of religion. More than 1,200 scholars and scientists in India have signed a statement arguing that it is “deeply troubling that the Bill uses religion as a legal criterion for determining Indian citizenship.”
Why did the BJP government push this bill forward?
The law fits within the BJP-led government’s larger agenda to construct a Hindu nation.
What do Indians think?
Legal scholars are likely to challenge the new law in India’s courts. Domestically, this religious test for citizenship has prompted fears that the government would eventually strip citizenship from as many as 200 million Muslims citizens. One of BJP’s key election promises was the creation of a nationwide National Register of Citizens, modeled on the NRC in Assam.
Legal scholars are likely to challenge the new law in India’s courts. Domestically, this religious test for citizenship has prompted fears that the government would eventually strip citizenship from as many as 200 million Muslims citizens. One of BJP’s key election promises was the creation of a nationwide National Register of Citizens, modeled on the NRC in Assam.
And for a Muslim perspective, here’s writer Bilal Qureshi’s op-ed for the Washington Post entitled: India once welcomed Muslims like me. Under Modi, it rejects us as invaders.
