Article :
To Oppose CAA is the Right of People and the Responsibility of Democratic and Progressive Forces
At last , in the late evening to declare the rules clearly , it took nearly twelve more hours to put forward the rules for enacting the law . It was only clear to the people that only those who have migrated to India before December 31 , 2014 from Afghanistan , Pakistan and Bangladesh and belong to the Hindu , Sikh , Jain , Buddhist , Parsi and Christian religious communities will be eligible to apply for Citizenship of India . In the beginning before the rules were published the Home Minister Amit Shah assured people that the application process would be very simple and could be done on-line . At certain premeditated places a few sychophants had started boisterous dances welcoming the announcement before people could comprehend what they were going to face . And it was telecasted in all news channels all over India for the next thirty-six hours . But by the morning when the full text of the rules as well as formats of application for Citizenship under CAA were published gloomy faces took the place of the wild dancers .
Before starting the discussion on CAA let us have a very brief look at the processes of acquiring Citizenship in India enshrined in the Constitution of our country . In India there are four methods to acquire Citizenship : 1 . Citizenship by Birth ; 2 . Citizenship by Descent ; 3 . Citizenship by Registration ; and 4 . Citizenship by Naturalisation .
There is another extraordinary method : Citizenship by incorporation of Territory .
The Citizenship Act was amended such that those who have entered India without a valid passport or travel document , or stay
april - 2024 beyond the permitted limit were defined as illegal immigrants . Moreover , it was also enacted that incase of descendants , if one of the parents is illegal immigrant the person would not be granted citizenship and the status of the person would be illegal migrant . CPI ( ML ) was a part and parcel of the protest organised by Bengali refugees . They met the parliamentarians of almost all parties . Most of them remained silent except Brinda Karat of the CPI ( M ) who personally helped the protesters . Things remained as it was and the BJP Government could not be reelected till 2014 . Others did not want to advance with it . Rather they were waiting to see the result of NRC in Assam .
Returning to power in 2014 Modi-Shah government hatched a deeper conspiracy . They understood that if they try to carry out the 2003 amendment their aim ie ., largescale deportation of Muslims or putting them in the concentration camps , would not be possible , since most of such illegal immigrants are Hindus . The experience of NRC in Assam is a proof . They found it to be more prudent to amend Citizenship Act such that their objectives would be fulfilled . It would be done such that Muslims would be left in the lurch . Amit Shah understood the chronology very well ! So , after getting a vast majority in the Lok Sabha in 2019 they steam rolled the opposition all hues , Congress , Trinamool Congress , CPI , CPI ( M ), and all others and got the CAA , 2019 passed . Similar method was adopted to get it passed in the Rajya Sabha .
What is there in the CAA , 2019 in brief ? And what is there in the rules ? Let us examine them one after another .
Aloke Mukherjee
According to the CAA , 2019 , “ Provided that any person belonging to Hindu , Sikh , Buddhist , Jain , Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan , Bangladesh or Pakistan , who entered India on or before 31 st of December , 2014 , who has been exempted by the Central Government by or undervalue ( c ) of sub-section ( 2 ) of section 3 of the Passport ( Entry into India ) Act , 1920 or from application of the provisions of Foreigners Act , 1946 or any rule or order made there under , shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purpose of this Act ”....
“ The Central Government ... on application made ... grant a certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation to a person ... from the date of his entry ”.
The first thing to be noted is that no where the amendment states that the persons had entered India due to religious persecution . But the leaders of the ruling party as well as their subservient media is propagating that this religiously biased amendment is meant for neutralising that pain of persecution . A damn lie !
Next comes the question that , to make personal religious beliefs conditional to grant citizenship is a blatant attack on the principle of secularism in India , which all Indians sans a very small minority are proud to be .
Third question arises on what would be the principles adopted for granting citizenship to those migrants who have entered India from countries other than those specified countries ? What ( religious category or the period of residing in India ) would be the conditions to be fulfilled
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