The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 is once again tabled at the Parliament.
The proposed bill will make it easier for the Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, and Buddhists who came to India seeking asylum from religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to gain Indian citizenship.
This bill is being criticised for going against the secular nature of the Indian constitution, by granting citizenship based on religious grounds.
Even though on surface it may seem that the bill seeks to give Indian citizenship on religious grounds, however it is important to understand the principles behind the bill.
Rational behind Citizenship Amendment Bill
The main rational behind this bill is to make it easier for persecuted minorities in countries who were once part of the India i.e. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to gain Indian citizenship.
The population of these minority communities has significantly decreased in these three countries due to constant harassment by government and society because of the religion of these communities.
These communities naturally look to India for refuge due similar culture and lifestyle.
Therefore in essence, the proposed bill seeks to ease citizenship laws for historically persecuted minorities in countries, which were once part of the India. The basis of this bill is not religion but identified persecution of communities in these countries.
Current status of refugees in India
It is no secret that Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and people from other religious minorities have been historically persecuted in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and they have been coming to India seeking rights of equality and freedom. However, India has disappointed them till date.
The current law mandates that a person should have legally lived in India for a minimum of 11 out of 14 years to be granted Indian citizenship. As a result most of these refugees cannot become part of the mainstream workforce, and have to live in poverty.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 if passed, would accelerate the citizenship process of these communities and allow them to have better standard of living and participate in Indian democracy.
What about Muslims?
The proposed bill’s main criticism is that it discriminates against Muslims.
It must be noted that Muslims are not religiously persecuted communities in the aforesaid countries which were once part of the India.
Cover Image by: Survey of India http://www.surveyofindia.gov.in/pages/display/239-india-and-adjacent-countries
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