What is Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 ?

           Before we can understand what is the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019? first we understand what is the Citizenship Act, 1955.

1) What is Citizenship Act, 1955

           In article 5 to 11. Citizenship can be obtained by one of the following bases as per the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955. These are as follows:-

• Every person who has the domicile in the territory of India and

1.       Who was born in the territory of India, or

2.       Either of whose parents was born in the territory of India, or

3.       Who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five shall be a Citizen of India.

• Under the India Constitution there is only one domicile.

• There is no separate domicile for the state.

• Person who migrated to Pakistan after March 1, 1947 but returned to India under a permit for resettlement.

• Any person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents was born in India.

• Person who migrated to India from Pakistan before 19^th July, 1948 and since then have been ordinarily residing in India.

• Person who migrated to India from Pakistan on or after 19^th July, 1948 but got themselves duly registered a citizen with a competent (Capable) officer appointed for the purpose.

• When a Indian Citizens Voluntarily (of his own) (Consciously, Knowingly and without duress, undue influence or) acquires the Citizenship of another country, his India Citizenship automatically terminates.

• The Parliaments has enacted the citizenship Act, 1955 which has been amended in 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005 and 2019. 

                

Indian Citizenship Act, 1955

                     The Act provide for the acquisition of Indian Citizenship after the commencement of the constitution in five ways, i.e. , Birth, Descent, Registration, Nationalization and Incorporation of territory.

2) What is the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019?

           The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB, which grants Indian citizenship to the non-Muslims of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will now go to the President for his assent. As many as 125 lawmakers voted in the favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and 99 against it.

 

Citizenship amendment Bill, 2019

            The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill voting in Rajya Sabha was taken up after six hours of debate on the legislation. Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu had allotted the six-hour time to the MPs to discuss the Indian Citizenship Bill.

           The Shiv Sena did not participate in the voting. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on 10 December 2019 and, subsequently, in the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019. It received the assent of the President on 12 December 2019.

              The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill proposes to grant citizenship to the non-Muslims Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist, Jains and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. It also means that any immigrant who does not belong to the said communities would not be eligible for Indian citizenship.

  

            Earlier, the duration of the immigrants' residency was 11 years. The amended bill has reduced it to five years. This means that immigrants from the three countries and from the mentioned religions, who have entered India before December 31, 2014, would not be treated as illegal immigrants.

         The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill exempts certain areas in the North-East from this provision.

      The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill would not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the area covered under the Inner Limit notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. This means that Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram along with almost whole of Meghalaya and parts of Assam and Tripura would stay out of the circumference of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. 

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