Now a day we are listening about this bill more frequently. A deep discussion is going on in the Parliament regarding this bill. So, today we will try to make it clear everything about this bill, its background, its outcomes, etc.
To understand this first we need to understand the CITIZENSHIP ACT 1955. The citizenship
of a person staying in India is declared by considering these things:
-BIRTH
-DESCENT
-REGISTRATION
-NATURALISATION
-INCORPORATION OF THE TERRITORY.
You might now about Birth…we will discuss the other aspects DESCENT, REGISTRATION, NATURALIZATION & INCORPORATION OF THE TERRITORY clearly.
DESCENT or CITIZENSHIP UNDER DESCENT:
People who were brought up anywhere outside India and if their Father or a parent lived in India between 26th JAN 1950 to 10th DEC 1992, then those people will be considered as INDIAN.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS:
If a person residing in India, that means a person who doesn’t have documents like VISA, PASSPORTS, any govt registered then they are called illegal immigrants and will be sent back to their country or will be prisoned.
According to this 1955 act, non-muslim minorities like SIKHS, JAINS, BUDDHISTS, PARSIS, CHRISTIANS especially those who migrated from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are living in India without proper documents then they will be deported to their country.
Under Article 9, people who have other country citizenship that person could not have Indian Citizenship.
If a baby is born in any other country other than India, then the baby’s birth should be registered within one year to become an official citizen of India.
RECENT PROPOSAL OF CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT BILL:
HINDUS, SIKHS, BUDDHISTS, JAINS, PARSIS & CHRISTIANS from the countries AFGHANISTAN, BANGLADESH, PAKISTAN who are living in INDIA will not be treated as illegal immigrants.
Even you are living in India, according to the 1955 act, you should show proof that you are living in India for the past 12years. Now, this is decreased to 6 years.
WHAT IS THE NEED FOR AMENDMENT:
During partition, many people out of knowledge came to India and if they don’t have any documents then these people will be now given the citizenship of India and now they will enjoy all the benefits of Indian citizens.
AGAINST THE BILL:
The main opposition is coming from ASSAM, because of the NRC bill, the government stated that people who entered India after 1971 that means the partition of Bangladesh, then they are considered as illegal migrants.
The government stated that they found that there are 40 lakh people as illegal immigrants. And they are having the highest vote share which is deciding factor in elections and the government also don’t want these people to decide the fate of democracy in ASSAM.
This number is around more than 1.5 crores when entire INDIA is considered. So, if these people are sent back to their countries, then the expenditure of government spent on these illegal immigrants can be used for actual citizens of India which will be a benefit for Indians.
The government also claims that Illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are creating disturbance in the religions in a few Eastern states.
