The Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi notified the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Mar 11, five years after it was passed in Parliament.

Union home minister Amit Shah has said that the implementation of CAA would enable minorities persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to get citizenship in India. 

The CAA says that the illegal migrants who have entered into India up to the cut off date of Dec 31, 2014 can acquire Indian citizenship. 

It will now begin granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Christians, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and Hindus -- from the above said countries who arrived in India up until December 31, 2014. 

The government or an authority specified by it, shall grant the certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation subject to such conditions, restrictions and manner as prescribed.

Since many of them have entered into India long back, they may be given the citizenship of India from the date of their entry in India if they fulfil conditions for Indian citizenship specified in section 5 or the qualifications for the naturalisation under the provisions of the Third Schedule to the Act. 6.

The CAA further grants immunity to the migrants of the aforesaid Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities so that any proceedings against them regarding their status of migration or citizenship do not bar them from applying for Indian citizenship. 

The competent authority shall not take into account any proceedings initiated against such persons regarding their status as illegal migrants or their citizenship matter while considering their application under section 5 or section 6 of the Act, if they fulfil all the conditions for grant of citizenship.

The government also got the Third Schedule to the Act amended in Parliament to make applicants belonging to the said communities from the aforesaid countries eligible for citizenship by naturalisation if they could establish their residency in India for five years instead of eleven years that was the condition earlier.

The CAA will also protect the constitutional guarantee given to indigenous population of northeastern states covered under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the statutory protection given to areas covered under "The Inner Line" system of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

(Source: IANS)

-Edited for style