The Central Government has initiated the process of granting citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA in three States – West Bengal, Haryana and Uttarakhand.
According to the Home Affairs Ministry, applicants in these States have started receiving citizenship through their respective State Empowered Committees. This comes two months after the ministry outlined guidelines for the CAA’s implementation.
The first batch of citizenship certificates was awarded on May 15 to 14 applicants in New Delhi, following the CAA’s passage by Parliament in December 2019. The Act facilitates the granting of Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian individuals from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution.
The ministry announced on March 11 the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. “The Rules outline the application process, the procedure for processing applications by the District Level Committee (DLC), and the scrutiny and grant of citizenship by the State Level Empowered Committee (EC). Applications have been received from individuals belonging to the specified communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan,” said a government spokesperson.
These applicants have sought Indian citizenship due to religious persecution or the fear thereof. This step by the Union government marks significant progress in the implementation of the CAA, aiming to provide refuge and citizenship to those persecuted in neighbouring countries.
