India Implements Controversial Citizenship Law/Granting Citizenship to Non-Muslim Immigrants

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has announced regulations to implement the 2019 citizenship law, as the country’s elections are weeks away and the Hindu nationalist leader is seeking It is the third term of the prime minister.

Citizenship Act Amendment (CAA) is a fast track to get citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis who went to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before December 31, 2014.

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The law was passed by India’s parliament in 2019, but the Modi government suspended its implementation following deadly protests in the capital and other cities. A large number of protesters were killed during several days of clashes with Indian police and security forces.

People of all faiths participated in nationwide protests in 2019, believing that the law undermined India’s foundation as a secular state. Muslims are especially worried that the government could use this law to marginalize them.

The National Register of Citizens is part of the Modi government’s effort to identify and target people it claims have come to India illegally. The registry has been implemented only in the northeastern state of Assam, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to implement a similar citizenship verification program across the country.

The Modi government has defended the Citizenship Act 2019 as a humanitarian gesture. The Indian government claims that this law is only intended to extend citizenship rights to religious minorities fleeing persecution and is not used against Indian citizens.

200 million Muslims live in India, forming a large minority group in this country of 1.4 billion people. They are present in almost all regions of India and were the target of a series of attacks when Modi came to power in 2014.