Citizenship Amendment Act 2019

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 Dec 2019.It amended the Citizenship Act 1955 before December 2014 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian religious minorities suffering persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the Government of India, in the last election manifesto promised to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries.  Following the amendments in 2019, migrants entering India on 31 December 2014, and were victims of "religious persecution or fear of religious persecution" were made eligible for citizenship in their country of origin.  According to the Indian Intelligence Bureau, the amendment to the natural housing requirement for the six immediate beneficiaries of the bill, ranging from twelve years of these migrants, also relaxed 31,313 refugees: 25,447 Hindus, 5,877 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.

The amendment has been widely criticized for discriminating on the basis of religion, especially excluding Muslims.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called it "fundamentally discriminatory", saying that India's "goal of protecting persecuted groups is welcome", calling it a non-discriminatory "strong national asylum system."  Must be completed through.  Critics have expressed concern that the bill would be used to render  national citizens registers as well as many stateless Muslim , as they may be unable to meet stringent birth or identification proof requirements.  Commentators also question the boycott of oppressed religious minorities from other regions such as Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.  The Indian government says Islam is considered its state religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, so Muslims are "unlikely to face religious persecution" there.  However, some Muslim groups, such as Hazar and Ahmadi, have historically faced persecution in these countries.
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The passage of the legislation caused large-scale protests in India.Assam and other northeastern states have seen violent demonstrations against the bill over fears that granting Indian citizenship to refugees and immigrants will cause a loss of their "political rights, culture and land rights" and motivate further migration from Bangladesh. In other parts of India, protesters said the bill discriminated against Muslims and demanded that Indian citizenship be granted to Muslim refugees and immigrants. Major protests against the Act were held at universities in India. Students at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia alleged brutal suppression by the policeman. The protests have led to the deaths of several protesters, injuries to protesters and police personnel, damage to public and private property, the detention of hundreds of people, and suspensions of local internet mobile phone connectivity in certain areas. Some states have announced they will not implement the Act. The Union Home Ministry has said that states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of the CAA.
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