14 people get first set of citizenship certificates under CAA
New Delhi | Today marked the issuance of the first batch of citizenship certificates to 14 people under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, almost two months following its notification by the Centre.
The issuing of citizenship certificates signifies the initiation of the process aimed at granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
According to the CAA, the eligibility period for citizenship application has been reduced from 11 to 5 years for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
In a ceremony held in Delhi, Union Home Secretary Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla personally presented the citizenship certificates to the applicants. He also highlighted the key features of the CAA during an interactive session attended by senior officials, including the Secretary of Posts, Director of Intelligence Bureau, and Registrar General of India.
The CAA, enacted in December 2019, aims to provide Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians. Although the Act received the president's approval, the rules outlining the process for granting Indian citizenship were issued only on March 11 this year after a delay of over four years. The ruling BJP attributed the delay in implementation to the challenges posed by the pandemic, despite its commitment to enacting the Citizenship Amendment Bill as stated in its 2019 manifesto.
Protests against the CAA's implementation took place across the nation, with some people worried that the law would be used to deem them illegal immigrants and revoke their Indian citizenship.
The government refutes this, claiming that in keeping with the "evergreen generous culture of India, laws are needed to help minorities facing persecution in Muslim-majority nations to get Indian citizenship for their happy and prosperous future".
- With inputs from agencies
