Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: All you need to know

The Citizenship Act,1955 was a milestone in regulating the migration levels, entry and exit of foreigners in India and keeping a constant check on it.
Its history is as important as its future impacts on the nation. Here is the Bill’s history, amendments, and controversies:

What is the Citizenship Act, 1955?

The Citizenship Act, 1955, was enacted for the “acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship”.

Under this, citizenship was granted to anyone who was born in the country or was born to Indian parents or has resided in the country for a period of time. ‘Illegal migrants’ were the ones who have entered the nation with no proper passport or documents, or, have exceeded the time of stay specified in their documents.

An individual who is found to be an ‘illegal migrant’ will be tried under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and will be either deported or jailed.

What are the requirements for an immigrant to get citizenship in India?

According to Section 2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, citizenship can be acquired by birth in India, by descent, through registration, by naturalisation (extended residence in India), and by incorporation of the territory into India.

What were the amendments made over the years?

The first amendment was in 2005 when the Centre added to the Act that anybody who is born in a registered ship or flight, the person will be deemed to have been born in the country the vehicle is registered in.

The major proposal for change came both in 2015 and 2016 when the Centre issued two notifications exempting Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, from the provisions of the Foreigners and the Passport (Entry into India) Acts. This means these groups will not be deported or punished for not having valid documents to stay in the country and can acquire citizenship if they have spent the necessary time here.
The Bill also proposes an addition to the acquiring of citizenship by naturalisation, wherein the person must have resided in India or been in central government service for the last 12 months and at least 11 years of the preceding 14 years.

The 2019 amendment proposes to further reduce it to five years and also that i) such persons shall be deemed to be citizens of India from the date of their entry into India, and (ii) all legal proceedings against them in respect of their illegal migration or citizenship will be closed.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons (SoR) says that millions of Indians resided in Pakistan and Bangladesh during the time of ‘Undivided India’, and also that these countries have a state religion that pressurises the minority groups, no such reason is listed for Afghanistan.

The new amendment to be tabled also moves to except Northeastern tribal areas - Karbi Anglong (Assam), Garo Hills (Meghalaya), Chakma District (Mizoram), and Tripura Tribal Areas District - from the Bill, as mentioned in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and also as the entry for migrants into the country is regulated under the ‘Inner Line Permit’.

Are any other countries fit for addition to the list?

Sri Lanka and Myanmar are primary Buddhist states. Sri Lanka also has a history of persecution of Tamil Eelams - a linguistic minority- and Myanmar has with the Rohingya Muslims.

Who are OCIs?

Overseas Citizens of India or OCIs are registered cardholders of Indian origin across the globe who have the right to travel or study in India without a visa.
This registration will be cancelled, under the Act, on five grounds: Registration through fraud, showing disaffection to the Constitution, engaging with the enemy during war, necessity in the interest of sovereignty of India, security of state or public interest, or if within five years of registration, the OCI has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more.
The new amendment now adds a clause saying that if an OCI violates any Indian law, including minor offence, which is in force, the registration will be cancelled by the central government.

How does it contradict the Constitutional rights?

However, this Act, which contradicts Article 14 of the Constitution, which emphasises that "the state not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India."

What are the other contradictions or controversies?

It is unclear as to why the Bill exempts certain neighbouring countries since the Bill is said to aim at providing citizenship to oppressed religious minorities surrounding the country.
The Bill also has no mention of the guidance on the nature of these laws under which the Centre will have to notify, which is crucial to set limits on the authority’s powers and to avoid any arbitrariness in the exercise of powers as stated by the Supreme Court. This makes the passing of the Bill provide the Centre with powers that may go beyond the permissible limits of valid delegation.

Union Home Minister has co-related NRC with the Bill saying that whatever error that was missed out in the NRC, the Citizenship Amendment shall rectify.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this Bill is for righting the wrongs of history by granting refuge to the sons and daughters of “Ma Bharti”, who were left stranded by Partition.
The Bill has also triggered massive uproar around the country as there is expected to be a bulky change in the demographics of the states that border the neighbouring countries.This reduces the opportunities and fear of losing their indigenous civilizations, tradition, and culture.

The Citizenship (Amendment) was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday and is expected to be tabled on Wednesday, around noon in the Rajya Sabha.
Massive protests erupted in the Northeastern states especially in Assam and Tripura, by the students' unions and Left-democratic organisations, against the Bill.