The Citizenship Amendment Act, which ignited widespread protests across the country, has now become a reality, four years after it was passed in the Parliament.
In December 2019, the CAA was passed with an overwhelming majority of 311:80 despite criticism that it undermined India's secular constitution. Under the act, undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will have their path to Indian citizenship expedited.
However, opposition leaders and protestors condemned the act for excluding Muslims, fearing that when combined with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), it would leave Muslims stateless if they failed to provide necessary documents. Further, petitions challenging the CAA at the Supreme Court argue that it violates Article 14 of the Constitution which says that "the state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of laws within the territory of India."
Opposition leaders have hit out at BJP for the move, alleging that the timing of the implementation was 바카라evidently designed to polarise the elections.바카라
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, 바카라The time taken to notify the rules for the CAA is yet another demonstration of the Prime Minister's blatant lies.바카라
While West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called it 바카라BJP's publicity for elections바카라 and said if people were deprived of their rights under the rules then she would fight against it. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the act calling it an attempt 바카라 to divide the people, incite communal sentiments바카라.
바카라This amounts to defining Indian citizenship on the basis of religion. It is an open challenge to humanity, the nation바카라s secular tradition and its people,바카라 he said.
Under the new guidelines, applicants need not provide a passport or visa as proof of citizenship. Instead, an educational institution certificate, birth certificate, 바카라identity document of any kind바카라, 바카라any licence or certificate바카라, 바카라land or tenancy records바카라, or 바카라any other document바카라 issued by these countries, which proves the applicant was their citizen, would suffice as proof of their nationality.
Anti-CAA protests had rocked the country in 2019 with Assam being the first state to start the protests. In 2020, Outlook looked at how protesting groups opposed the CAA, fearing it would reduce the indigenous Assamese population by granting citizenship to Hindu Bengali migrants from Bangladesh.
Outlook also looked at how the Shaheen Bagh protest which lasted more than a 100 days became the voice of resistance and dissidence.
