Cecily Zamora
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have been the subject of intense debate and protests in India since their inception. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to immigrants belonging to specific religious groups from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, while the NRC aims to document all legal citizens, leaving out those who cannot provide sufficient documentation. The laws have been criticised as discriminatory towards Muslims and a violation of India's secular principles, leading to widespread demonstrations and international condemnation. Despite support from some Hindu groups and the BJP's promise of nationwide implementation, the laws have faced legal challenges and opposition from several Indian states and the international community.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What is CAA? | Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 |
| Who does it apply to? | Immigrants of persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian religious minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered India before 2014. |
| What does it do? | Provides an accelerated pathway to Indian citizenship for immigrants of persecuted religious minorities from Islamic countries. |
| What is NRC? | National Register of Citizens |
| Who does it apply to? | All Indian citizens |
| What does it do? | Registers all Indian citizens so that those left out can be recognised as illegal immigrants. |
| What is NPR? | National Population Register |
| Who does it apply to? | All residents of India, including non-citizens |
| What does it do? | Records demographic and biometric details of citizens. |
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What You'll Learn
The CAA's impact on India's secularism
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been criticised for threatening India's secularism. The CAA, in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has been interpreted as undermining the country's secular fabric and foundational principles. The exclusion of Muslims from the CAA has been highlighted as discriminatory, violating Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equal rights. This exclusion has been perceived as promoting a Hindu-majoritarian agenda, deviating from India's commitment to secularism and religious neutrality in its conception of citizenship.
The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to specific religious groups from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, excluding Muslims. This exclusion has been criticised as legitimising discrimination and violating the constitutional promise of equal rights. The Indian Constitution embeds secularism and guarantees equal protection of the law for all individuals, regardless of citizenship. By introducing religion as a criterion for citizenship, the CAA has been viewed as a step towards transforming India into a majoritarian state, threatening the rights of minorities.
The NRC, which aims to document all legal citizens, has also raised concerns. In Assam, many people were declared "foreigners" due to insufficient documentation, and there are fears that the NRC could be used to target Muslims in combination with the CAA. The CAA-NRC duo has sparked widespread protests across India, with critics arguing that they undermine the country's plural social fabric and peaceful coexistence among diverse communities. The protests themselves are expressions of India's multi-religious and multi-ethnic character, with participants defending secularism as a foundational principle.
The impact of the CAA and NRC on India's secularism has not gone unnoticed internationally. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights criticised the CAA as "fundamentally discriminatory," and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation urged India to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority. Additionally, members of the European Parliament and lawmakers from other countries have expressed concern over the potential impact on India's Muslim minority and the creation of a statelessness crisis.
The Indian government has defended the CAA, stating that it passed the test of "reasonable classification" under Article 14. However, critics argue that the BJP's deliberate miscommunication and statements linking the CAA and NRC as a strategy against Muslims have fuelled confusion and mistrust. The Chief Ministers of several Indian states have refused to implement the CAA, citing communal tensions and polarisation. The resistance to the CAA-NRC combination demonstrates the importance of secularism in India's social fabric and the need for legislation that upholds the country's diverse and inclusive nature.
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Protests against the CAA-NRC
The protests began in Assam and spread to other states, including Delhi, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura. In Assam, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and 30 other organizations and artist communities organized protests, demanding a "corruption-free, foreigner-free, terrorism-free, and pollution-free Assam" instead of the implementation of the CAA-NRC. The northeastern region, comprising Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, has been the heart of the anti-CAA protest since its inception, with student bodies leading the movement.
In Kolkata, thousands of protesters gathered at Moulali to peacefully protest against the CAA and NRC. Protests were also held at Jadavpur University and the Kolkata Pride Parade, where LGBT rights activists voiced their opposition to the CAA and NRC. When Prime Minister Modi visited Kolkata, hundreds of people protested against the CAA at the airport, and several parties and student unions launched a protest at Dorina Crossing.
In Mumbai, around 20,000 protesters participated in a peaceful demonstration at August Kranti Maidan. Thousands more joined the anti-CAA protests at Jogeshwari, carrying banners with slogans such as "No CAA, Boycott NRC" and "Don't Divide Us."
In Delhi, the protests have been met with a heavy-handed response from the police, with reports of arrests, shootings, and midnight searches. Students from various universities, including Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), have actively participated in the demonstrations.
The protests against the CAA-NRC have brought together people from all walks of life, including lawyers, teachers, professionals, students, and homemakers. The wide public support for the protests has ensured that the issue is not seen as a concern only for minority communities. The demonstrations have been largely spontaneous, led by people who are neither professional politicians nor well-known political activists.
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International responses to the CAA-NRC
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are two of the most polarising policy measures introduced in India in recent years, particularly in border states like Assam. The CAA and NRC have profound consequences for the social fabric of India's border communities and challenge the idea of citizenship. They also have far-reaching implications for India's constitutional values and international human rights standards.
The international community has raised concerns about India's policies on citizenship and border control, particularly in the context of the NRC and CAA. Amnesty International, for example, informed US lawmakers that the CAA violates the Constitution of India and international human rights law by "legitimising discrimination" on the basis of religion. Amnesty International, the USCIRF, and the United Nations have all issued statements urging India to reconsider these measures, citing their discriminatory nature and the potential for large-scale human rights violations.
In response to these concerns, India has reached out to countries across all geographical regions to share its perspective on the CAA and NRC, emphasising that they are internal matters. The Indian government has shown little willingness to reverse or significantly amend these policies. According to the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, "We did reach out to countries across all geographical regions. We did write to our missions and posts. [...] We emphasised that the matter is internal to India. We also asked them (missions) to convey that the Act just provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities already in India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh."
Despite India's outreach efforts, the controversy surrounding the CAA and NRC has had international repercussions. Protests over the CAA led to the postponement of the Indo-Japan bilateral summit, and the cancellation of the Japanese prime minister's trip. Additionally, the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister and Home Minister called off their visits to India following the enactment of the controversial law.
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The BJP's promotion of the CAA-NRC
The BJP has promoted the CAA-NRC as a way to grant citizenship to "eligible persons". The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed in December 2019 and enables citizenship for undocumented migrants belonging to six non-Muslim communities: Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. These migrants must have entered India before December 31, 2014, and the Act reduces the period to qualify for citizenship from 11 years to 5. The BJP has projected the CAA as a tool of Hindu consolidation against Muslims, although it has no connection with the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The NRC is a register of all Indian citizens, mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. It was first implemented in Assam starting in 2013-2014 and was updated in 2019, leaving out 1.9 million applicants, rendering them potentially stateless. The BJP has promised to implement the NRC for all of India, although it dropped this from its 2024 manifesto. The NRC is meant to document all legal citizens so that illegal immigrants can be identified and deported. However, there are concerns that it will be used to deprive Muslims of Indian citizenship, as the CAA will come to the rescue of non-Muslims excluded from the register.
Protests against the CAA-NRC have occurred across India, with violent clashes resulting in the deaths of protesters and a police officer. Opposition parties have also protested against the laws, with leaders wearing black armbands and vacating front-row seats during a parliamentary session. The CAA-NRC has also been criticised by international organisations such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations, which called the Act "fundamentally discriminatory in nature". Despite the controversy and opposition, the BJP has continued to promote the CAA-NRC as a way to confer citizenship on eligible persons.
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The CAA's effect on Muslims in India
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed in India in December 2019. It provides a route to citizenship for members of six religious minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, but not for Muslims. The Act has been criticised for being anti-Muslim and unconstitutional, and there have been widespread protests against it across the country, with many Indian Muslims fearing deportation.
The CAA, coupled with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a definitive list of Indian citizens, has caused concern that Muslims will be disproportionately affected. The NRC was first implemented in Assam, where a similar list was used to single out Indian-born Muslims for potential deportation. While members of other faiths can use the CAA as a route back into Indian citizenship if they are branded as illegal by the NRC process, Muslims do not have this option. This has caused fear and anxiety among the Muslim community, with many joining protests against the Act.
The Indian government has stated that the CAA does not impact Indian Muslims and that they enjoy equal rights to Hindus. They have emphasised that the Act does not deal with deportation and that there is no bar on Muslims seeking Indian citizenship under the existing naturalisation laws. However, critics argue that by excluding Muslims, the CAA has violated Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equal rights before the law for all within India.
The CAA and NRC have also been criticised by international organisations such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which called the Act "fundamentally discriminatory in nature". Despite assurances from the government, many Indian Muslims continue to fear that they will be unable to produce the requisite documents to prove their citizenship, leading to potential loss of citizenship, detention, or deportation.
The impact of the CAA and NRC on Muslims in India has been significant, with the laws causing widespread anxiety and uncertainty within the community. The laws have also contributed to a shift in the political landscape, with Muslims feeling increasingly marginalised and excluded from the political process.
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Frequently asked questions
CAA refers to the Citizenship Amendment Act, which was passed in 2019. It seeks to grant citizenship to immigrants belonging to six religious groups from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. NRC refers to the National Register of Citizens, which documents all legal citizens of India.
The CAA has been criticised for excluding Muslims, which critics argue violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which states that everyone in India has equal rights before the law. Many have interpreted the CAA-NRC package as a means to target Muslims, with the NRC being used to deem Muslims stateless.
There have been widespread protests against the CAA-NRC, both within India and internationally. The Chief Ministers of several Indian states have refused to implement the CAA, and the state of Kerala has challenged it in the Supreme Court of India. The United Nations has also criticised the Act, calling it "fundamentally discriminatory".
