Citizenship Amendment Act + National Register for Citizens FAQs
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Made by Saurabh Chandra, this FAQ answers: - What is CAA? - I heard it will help persecuted Hindus in Pakistan, is that true? - Why is this based on religion? What if someone is an Atheist? - Should we not help persecuted people who have come to India? - CAA may be selective on which illegal migrant to include but why does it bother Indians? - What is the link to NRC? - Why are so many Indian Muslims opposing it? - What about outside Assam or Bengal? Wont a Hindu in Tamil Nadu face the same issue as a Muslim? - I am a BJP supporter, why should it bother me?
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Citizenship Amendment Act + National Register for Citizens FAQs
- 1. CAA/NRC FAQ Educate yourself (and your friends)
- 2. What is CAA? Citizenship Amendment Act says that illegal migrants in India who came before 2014 from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan and belong to one of these religions: Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian, will be made legal. They will also have an accelerated path to citizenship of 5yrs instead of 11yrs.
- 3. I heard it will help persecuted Hindus in Pakistan, is that true? No. As of now, it is only for illegal migrants who came to India before Dec 2014. It does not apply to anyone who is outside India. Hindus who are currently in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and want to migrate to India will not be covered.
- 4. Why is this based on religion? What if someone is an Atheist? Right now the act doesnt include atheists or anyone not belonging to the speci鍖c religions mentioned. Atheists are highly persecuted in both Bangladesh and Pakistan. People could also be persecuted due to gender, political beliefs or caste. There are also illegal migrant women and children in India who were tra鍖cked by ma鍖a. Religion is a bad category to use given persecution on many dimensions. It is also against the tenets of the constitution. One can easily say all persecuted people and it will also include the speci鍖c religions. One could exclude people based on background veri鍖cation tests for records of violence for example.
- 5. Should we not help persecuted people who have come to India? We should and we always have. - 4 lakh Hindus from Sri Lanka have been settled (MEA FAQ) - 95,000 Tibetans live in India (CTA survey 2009) - 18,000 Afghan refugees are in India (MEA 2011) Union govt has enough discretion to settle anyone who applies and we have done it.
- 6. CAA maybe selective on which illegal migrant to include but why does it bother Indians? It is a matter of principle. Linking citizenship to religion even for a small set of people sets a precedent that is bad. One can do background veri鍖cations to make sure unwanted immigrants dont enter rather than classify them on religion. In this modern world where many people are choosing to be of no religion or are children of mixed religion parents, this is really unfair.
- 7. What is the link to NRC? The CAA has come after the National Registry of Citizens exercise has failed in Assam. NRC wants to make a full registry of genuine citizens. To be a genuine citizen you have to prove you were born in India before 1987 or if after 1987, not just you but one of your parent should also be born in India. Aadhaar and Passport were not valid documents for the same. This led to 19 Lakh people identi鍖ed (nearly 12 Lakh hindus in that) who were deemed not citizen. This even included Kargil war veterans! In India it is common to have paperwork errors where spellings dont match or papers are simply not available. CAA was created as a response to make sure speci鍖c religions get relief from being classi鍖ed non-citizens.
- 8. Why are so many Indian Muslims opposing it? In the Assam NRC, the CAA has been promised as a way for all non-muslims to get relief. There is no proof required to show a person is from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan. Just the persons religion is enough. Such a relief doesnt exist for Muslims who maybe wrongly classi鍖ed as illegal even if they are Indian citizens but dont have the documents to prove it. Now imagine, this applied all over India.
- 9. What about outside Assam or Bengal? Wont a Hindu in Tamil Nadu face the same issue as a Muslim? Yes, outside of places where people can claim to be from Bangladesh or Pakistan there is no di鍖erence in the problems a genuine Indian citizen who is wrongly classi鍖ed will face. That is why opposition to CAA/NRC is across communities. This is not an issue speci鍖c to Muslims. It will a鍖ect all Indians.
- 10. I am a BJP supporter, why should it bother me? It should bother every Indian. The NRC exercise will be conducted by state governments. The union government itself can change over time. By giving such powers to the government of deciding whether you are a citizen, you are putting yourself at the mercy of any petty o鍖cial who chooses to harass you or a future government who may not be your favorite. Thousands of villagers recently were charged with sedition (desh droh), simply for opposing land acquisition. Governments have a record of using the worst weapon they have against its own citizens. It is our duty to make sure we safeguard ourselves and our children against future governments. Oppose this even if you like the current government.