The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 seeks to allow illegal migrants from certain minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. In other words, it amends the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Bill was recently passed in the LokSabha. Nagaland, along with other north-eastern States, has witnessed several protests following the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Body:

The key features of the bill are:

• Definition of Illegal migrants:
  • The Citizenship Act, 1955 prohibits illegal migrants from acquiring Indian citizenship.
  • The Bill amends the act to provide that the following minority groups will not be treated as illegal migrants: Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists — from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India before 2014
• Citizenship by naturalisation:
  • Under Citizenship Act, 1955, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India for 12 of the 15 years preceding the date of application.
  • It appeals for the minimum years of residency in India to apply for citizenship to be lessened from at least 11 to six years for such migrants.
• Cancellation of registration of OCI cardholder:
  • The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law.

The issues surrounding the bill:

• Endorsing Hindus:
  • The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 imagines India as a Hindu homeland, which is a refutation of the constitutional idea of the republic.
  • Experts see it as a move to endorse Hindus from Bangladesh who migrated to Assam after 1971.
  • The Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion. This may violate Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees right to equality.
• OCI:
  • The Bill allows cancellation of OCI registration for violation of any law. This is a wide ground that may cover a range of violations, including minor offences
• Discrimination of Muslims:
  • Alleged illegal migration from Bangladesh has been at the heart of Assam’s discontent .Not just the Muslim Bengali, but the Hindu Bengali has also been a reason for political mobilisation in the state. But only Hindu Bengalis are being favoured by the bill.
  • While Hindus and Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians might be naturalised, Muslims will not be offered the same advantage even if they are persecuted

Citizenship bill and indigenous people’s interests:

The proposed legislation has polarised the Northeast and triggered a process of social and political realignment. Most disquietingly, it threatens to expose the faultlines that had led to the rise of sub-nationalist politics in the region in the 1980s.The bill is leading to following issues in North east:

• The Citizenship Amendment Bill has not been sitting well with the Assamese as it contradicts the Assam Accord of 1985, which clearly states that illegal migrants heading in from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971, would be deported.
• There are an estimated 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam and they have inalienably altered the demography of the state, besides putting a severe strain on the state’s resources and economy.
• Mizoram fears Buddhist Chakmas and Hindu Hajongs from Bangladesh may take advantage of the Act.
• Meghalaya and Nagaland are apprehensive of migrants of Bengali stock.
• Groups in Arunachal Pradesh fear the new rules may benefit Chakmas and Tibetans.
• Manipur wants the Inner-line Permit System to stop outsiders from entering the state.

Conclusion:

India’s citizenship provisions are derived from the perception of the country as a secular republic. In fact, it is a refutation of the two-nation theory that proposed a Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan. Independent India adopted a Constitution that rejected discrimination on the basis of religion and the birth of Bangladesh undermined the idea that religion could be the basis of a national community. So citizenship bill amendments need to be on this line.