Post Covid Pandemic

CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT 2019

            Protests and confusion have rocked all parts and across the length and breadth of India against this Act.  In the last few months, the country has seen violent and very unfortunate strikes and protests against this CAA2019 and the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the national capital region as also other parts of India.

            Before we go into the details and nitty gritties of the Act, let us first try to understand what Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) is all about.   

            This is an act that was passed in Parliament on December 2019.  The 2019 CAA amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 allowing Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities who fled from the neighbouring Muslim majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014 due to “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution”.  However, the Act excludes Muslims.  Under the CAA 2019 amendment, migrants who entered India by December 31, 2014 and had suffered “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution” in their country of origin were made eligible for citizenship by the new Law.  This indicates that the applicant should have entered India on or before that date.  Indian Citizenship under the present law is given either to those born in India or if they are residents of this country for a minimum of 11 years.  This Bill also proposed to incorporate a sub-section (d) to Section 7 providing for cancellation of Overseeas Citizen of India (OCI) registration where the OCI card-holder has violated any provision of the Citizenship Act or any other law in force. These types of migrants will be granted fast track Indian citizenship by the new Law in six years.  The amendment also relaxed the residence requirement for naturalization of these migrants from eleven years to five years. This Act seeks to amend the definition of illegal immigrant for Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants who have lived in India without documentation. 

            The Central Government’s logic is that minority groups have come escaping persecution in Muslim-majority nations.  However, this logic fails to remain consistent in that the Bill does not protect all religious minorities nor does it apply to all neighbours.  Sects like Shias and Ahmedis also face persecution in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan but are not included in the CAA.  Questions were also raised on the exclusion of persecuted religious minorities from other regions like Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The Government’s response was that Muslims can seek refuge in Islamic Nations but has not effectively answered the other lingering questions.

            Our Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah has stated that the Bill would not have been necessary if the Congress had not agreed to partition on the basis of religion.  However, that India was not created on the basis of religion is an undisputed fact staring them in the face.  All the founders of India then were committed to a secular state where all citizens irrespective of religion enjoyed full membership.  Either way, this logic for the CAB also collapses since Afghanistan was not part of pre-Partition India. 

            The enlightening fact is that CAB will not apply to areas under the sixth schedule of the Constitution – which deals with autonomous tribal-dominated regions in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.  This Bill also has no relevance in states that have the inner-line permit regime like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.

            Now, a very intriguing yet interesting and fact is the anger and outrage exhibited by the people of Assam against CAB.  While a big chunk of this state has been exempted from the legislation, CAB covers a large part of Assam.  The protests and outrage stem from the fear that illegal Bengal Hindu migrants from Bangladesh, if regularised under CAB, would threaten the very fabric of cultural and linguistic identities of Assam.

            As soon as the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in both Houses of Parliament and given Presidential nod making it a law, there were loud murmurs about another move – the National Register of Citizens or NRC and whether together both of them would create a problem.  Now, let us first try to understand what the National Register of Citizens or NRC actually is.           

            The National Register of Citizens or NRC is one which identified illegal immigrants from Assam on the hon’ble Supreme Court’s order.  This has been a state-specific exercise to keep its ethnic uniqueness unaltered.  However, ever since its implementation, there has been a loud and growing demand for its nationwide coverage.  Now, the hitch according to the Opposition is that many top BJP leaders including our Home Minister are loudly proposing that the NRC in Assam be implemented across the entire country.  In essence, it effectively suggests that a legislation will be assured in that will enable the Government to identify infiltrators who have been living in India illegally, detain them and deport them to where they came from. 

            In my opinion, is this not a welcome move from National Security and National Protection point of view ? I may be a layman not aware of technical implications.  But, is the Government not justified in protecting and securing its borders and territories against illegal infiltrations by identifying them and ekking them out ?  After all, the Government, for the first time, is attempting to do its job ? Why is there such a hue and cry against a Government that is actually acting as it should and as per principles of Law  ?

         This proposed Bill, once initiated and implemented, will singularly target illegal immigrants in India.  But, Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh will not be affected in any way if they claim that they have arrived in India after fleeing religious persecution. Thus, in a nut shell, if and when National NRC comes into force, any illegal immigrant from other than Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh will be targeted.  And as for these three nations, people migrating from there who belong to the Muslim community will also be affected as they are not part of the CAA.  My nagging worry is where will all these people who have made this country their home for good or bad go when they are forced to move out due to NRC. On the other hand, again I repeat, the Government is looking at the larger future picture of a trouble free and violence free India.  Hence, we, as its citizens, have to give it to them and stand by them as they are struggling to put our house in order.

            Now, let’s come to the major question of what would happen to the affected illegal immigrants after National NRC is put in place. They will be transported to large detention centres.  After that, the Ministry of External Affairs will reach out to the concerned Nations.  If the details of the detainees are matched and accepted by the concerned Nations, deportations will follow. 

            As late as October 2019, our Home Minister has been raising the pitch for a nationwide NRC in West Bengal.  In Haryana, the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar too had promised to bring in NRC in the state in his election manifesto.  Though behind closed doors, even Shri Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS supremo has been pitching for the same. 

            Whether the nationwide NRC will be put into place or not is a premature question.  But going by the speed with which the Government is moving in bringing in some very bold legislations like the abrogation of Article 370 in the monsoon session of Parliament 2019 and the CAB in the winter session, it looks like a pan-India NRC Bill in the next Parliament session will definitely not be a farfetched idea. 

            Several petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 including by RJD leader Shri Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.  At the first hearing on petitions challenging the CAA, the hon’ble Supreme Court decline to stay the contentious law but directed the Centre to file its reply against the  petitions that insist that it violated the Constitution.  They also claim that it discriminates against Muslims and violates the right to equality enshrined in the Constitution. 

            Now, let us see what the Opposition has to say about this.  The Opposition’s stand is that the CAB ringfences the Muslim identity by declaring India a welcome refuge to all other religious communities.  This seeks to legally establish Muslims as second-class citizens of India by meeting out preferential treatment to other groups.  This violated the very essence of Article 14 of the Constitution, the fundamental right to equality to all persons.  The Opposition strongly feels that this basic structure of the Constitution cannot be reshaped by any Parliament. 

However, the Government stoically maintains that this law does not in any way discriminate or violate the right to equality.   The Government also made it distinctly clear that NRC and NPR are not part of CAA.  If one only looks at ways of protesting and creating confusion among the masses, then they are pushing our people towards a non-democratic atmosphere.  My take is that Citizenship Amendment Act is right for India and good for India. If the Government is so strongly sure about its stand, there must be underlying and strong background researches done for boldly taking such a stand. After all, as we all know, the famous quote by none other than the famous Abraham Lincoln reads “ Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth”.                        The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 has now become officially an ACT as of 12^th December 2019 assuring in the process of amendment to the already existing Citizenship Act, 1955.    

Onthe sidelines, I would like to relate an interesting event in this context.   As per our Prime Minister Modi’s initiative and directions to all the Central Ministers to propagate Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, a small but impressive event was organised in Chennai on Sunday, the 12^th January 2020 at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha which I was fortunate enough to attend.  The Chief Guest was none other than our own Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.  The entire event stood out for its simplicity, focus and awareness propagation.  The moment she walked in, she was all business.  But, she charmed us all by her candid, simple and smiling countenance.  All the welcome speeches were rendered in Tamil and were short and to the point.  The speech by the Finance Minister was clear, distinct and understandable even to the common man.  She started by patiently explaining the entire CAA as to how it stood since 1955 and how it is being amended now in 2019.  Even the lay man on the streets would be able to appreciate its benefits fully as she was able to explain well both in Tamil and English.  Her speech was followed by a short question answer session.  The questions put up to her were relevant and genuinely intriguing.  Her answers to the questions were astounding, very clear and candid.  Due to paucity of time, she was only able to spend about an hour and a half for the question answer session.  But, she stood out because of her simple demeanour, straight speaking and simple body language.  The usual pomp and show of such political events was completely lacking in this event.  Anybody could question her and she was there waiting to answer all. 

The Finance Minister had done her homework.  She stated that 2838 Pakistanis, 914 Afghans and 172 Kashmiris had been made eligible for citizenship under the CAA.  More than 4 lakh Srilankan Tamils and 566 Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have also been accommodated.  Shri Adnan Sami Khan who is a Pakistani Indian singer, musician, music composer, pianist and actor has also been offered citizenship rights here.  CAA is for the benefit of those refugees in the camps.  The Finance Minister reiterated that the present Government was implementing CAA since the previous Government had failed to do so.  She also drew attention to the fact that the Opposition was advocating States to reject CAA.  Having become an Act of Parliament, the advice to reject implementing the Act is unconstitutional and liable for punishment.  Instead of rebutting the false propaganda, the present Government is taking the benefits of CAA to the people through numerous discussions, workshops, meetings and political forums, each of them addressed by very senior Ministers who are aware of the lie of the land.  Incidentally, the Finance Minister also insisted that the Srilankan Tamils are not being left out or neglected as alleged by the Opposition.  They are also being wrapped in through the process which is a continuous one.  It may be a question of time before they get included but included they will be. After all, the FM categorically concluded that this Government is one that stands by the people and work for their welfare and improvement. She also added that this Government is devoted to disprove all false propaganda by taking the actual truth about CAA to the public through discussions, awareness programs and workshops simple enough for the common man to understand the ground reality about CAA.  She further stated that this Government is one with the people.  The whole Cabinet will stand as one and popularise the positive and truthful aspects about CAA.

I must hand it over to them, our Government for their united and devoted path of bringing out the truth.  It is only rarely we get to meet the Central Finance Minister and that too for an event like this.  But, having been there and seen it all, my humble opinion is that we are extremely lucky and fortunate to have a Finance Minister from our very own state and that too in the form of such a simple and uncomplicated individual. 

The latest development on the petitions against CAA on 22.01.2020 is that the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice S.A.Bobde announced that it will not grant any stay on CAA without hearing the Centre and that it may refer the pleas to a larger constitutional bench.  The Supreme Court had also granted the Centre four weeks to reply on the pleas.

Let me sign off this article with the fervent and sincere hope that good things and good tidings come our way very soon.