The passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act has set off protests across the country, with many fearing that the controversial legislation which grants to select minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh Indian citizenship will be used in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to deem minorities as "illegal immigrants".
Many peoples doing protest but they didn't know what is CAA and NRC. Hence, to clear their doubt read this blog.
The NRC first gained national prominence with its implementation in the northeastern state of Assam, but the citizens' registry is fueling fear and panic in the nation.
Now question is What is CAA or CAB?
CAB: is THE CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2019 to further amend the CAA (i.e. the Citizenship Act, 1955).
CAA: is the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 after introduction of THE CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2019 which was THE CITIZENSHIP ACT, 1955.
This Act define who is Illegal Migrants and who is Citizens of India.
Under the Citizenship (Amendment ) Act,2019 :-
Illegal Migrants means: a foreigner who has entered into India―
i) without a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf; or
ii) with a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf but remains therein beyond the permitted period of time;
However, if any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or
Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into
India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the
Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the
Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the
Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as
illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act;".
Citizens of India means: who fulfill any conditions of citizenship which are given below:
1)Citizenship by birth.― Under this every person who born in India―
a) on or after the 26th day of January, 1950, but before the 1st day of July, 1987;
b) on or after the 1st day of July, 1987, but before the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004) and either of whose parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth;
c) on or after the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004), where―
(i) both of his parents are citizens of India; or
(i) both of his parents are citizens of India; or
(ii) one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of his birth,
shall be a citizen of India by birth.
>A person shall not be a citizen of India if at the time of his birth―
(a) either his father or mother possesses such immunity from suits and legal process as is accorded to an envoy of a foreign sovereign power accredited to the President of India and he or she, as the case may be, is not a citizen of India; or
(b) his father or mother is an enemy alien and the birth occurs in a place then under occupation by the enemy.
(a) on or after the 26th day of January, 1950, but before the 10th day of December, 1992, if his father is a citizen of India at the time of his birth; or
(b) on or after the 10th day of December, 1992, if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth:
>Provided that if the father of a person referred to in point (a) above was a citizen of India by descent only, that person shall not be a citizen of India unless―
(i) his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of its occurrence or the commencement of this Act, whichever is later, or, with the permission of the Central
Government, after the expiry of the said period; or
(ii) his father is, at the time of his birth, in service under a Government in India.
>Provided further that if either of the parents of a person referred to in point (b) above was a citizen of India by descent only, that person shall not be a citizen of India by virtue of this section, unless―
(i) his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of its occurrence or on or after the 10th day of December, 1992, whichever is later, or, with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period; or
(ii) either of his parents is, at the time of his birth, in service under a Government in India.
>Provided also that on or after the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003(6 of 2004), a person shall not be a citizen of India ,unless his birth is registered at an Indian consulate in such form and in such manner, as may be prescribed,―
(i) within one year of its occurrence or the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003(6 of 2004), whichever is later; or
(ii) with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period.
Provided also that no such birth shall be registered unless the parents of such person declare, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed by Govt., that the minor does not hold the passport of another country.
3) Citizenship by registration.― the Central Government may, on an application made in this behalf, register as a citizen of India any person not being an illegal migrant if he belongs to any of the following categories, namely:―
(a) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;
(b) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India;
(c) a person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;
(d) minor children of persons who are citizens of India;
(e) a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India under point (a) above or under sub-section (1) of section 6;
(f) a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and is ordinarily resident in India for twelve months immediately before making an application for registration;
(g) a person of full age and capacity who has been registered as an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder for five years, and who is ordinarily resident in India for twelve months before making an application for registration.
Explanation 1.―For the purposes of point (a) and (c) above, an applicant shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident in India if―
(i) he has resided in India throughout the period of twelve months immediately before making an application for registration; and
(ii) he has resided in India during the eight years immediately preceding the said period of twelve months for a period of not less than six years.
Explanation 2.― a person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he, or either of his parents, was born in undivided India or in such other territory which became part of India after the 15th day of August, 1947.
Now What is NRC?
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register of all Indian citizens whose creation is mandated by The Citizenship Act 1955 as amended in 2003–2004. It has not yet been implemented except for the state of Assam.
Assam, being a border state with unique problems of illegal immigration, an NRC for the state was created in 1951 based on the 1951 census data. But it was not maintained afterwards.
In 1983, the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act was passed by the Parliament creating a separate tribunal process for identifying illegal migrants in Assam.
The Supreme Court of India struck it down as unconstitutional in 2005, after which the Government of India agreed to update the Assam NRC. Following unsatisfactory progress on the update process over a decade, the Supreme Court started directing and monitoring the process in 2013. The final updated NRC for Assam, published 31 August 2019, contained 31 million names out of 33 million population, leaving out about 2 million applicants.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to implement the NRC for all of India, but it did not find the results of the Assam NRC meeting its expectations. It believes that several legitimate citizens were excluded while illegal migrants were included.
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