WEB DESK
The controversial Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA, which promises citizenship to refugees who came to India before 2014 from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but not if they are Muslims came into effect on Friday, an official notification from the Home Ministry said
The controversial law, that makes religion a criteria for citizenship for the first time in India, has triggered massive protests across the country.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 10th day of January, 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” the notification said.
Passed by parliament on December 11, the CAA says that members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The Home Ministry, however, is yet to frame the rules for implementing the act.
Those who are opposed to the legislation say that it is for the first time that India will grant citizenship on the basis of religion which violates the basic tenets of the country’s constitution. They say the citizenship law is a precursor to a national register that many Muslims fear will leave them stateless. Many of the poor in the country do not have documents to prove their nationality.