The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passed this year, has raised concerns about its compatibility with India’s Constitution, as per a report released by an independent research arm of the US Congress.
The CAA, which amends the Citizenship Act of 1955, was put into effect in March, almost four years after receiving approval from Parliament. It opens the door for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.
As outlined in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, “Certain provisions of the CAA, such as offering a citizenship path to immigrants of six religions from three countries while excluding Muslims, may potentially violate specific Articles of the Indian Constitution.”
The report raises concerns that when combined with a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), the CAA could pose a threat to the rights of India’s Muslim community.
It is mentioned in the report that critics of the CAA are apprehensive about the ruling BJP’s alleged pursuit of a Hindu majoritarian, anti-Muslim agenda, which could undermine India’s status as a constitutionally secular republic and breach international human rights standards.
Furthermore, the report points out that the implementation of the CAA coincided with the BJP’s second national re-election campaign, leading some to speculate that the timing was largely politically motivated.
Quoting detractors, the report argues, “…Given that the CAA is tailored to safeguard only individuals belonging to ‘approved’ religions, those outside this scope may find themselves with limited options, thereby supporting claims of Modi-BJP initiatives to erode India’s secular principles and establish what a senior observer describes as ‘an ethnic democracy that equates the [Hindu] majoritarian community with the nation’ while relegating others to a second-class position.”
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), an autonomous research division of the US Congress, offers reports to assist in congressional decision-making, however, it does not reflect the official views of Congress.
The Biden administration had previously voiced apprehensions about the notification of India’s Citizenship Amendment Act and emphasized that it is keeping a close watch on the enforcement of the controversial law.
India has refuted the criticisms and has consistently asserted that the CAA is primarily focused on providing citizenship. The government assured in a statement that no citizen of the country would be deprived of their citizenship due to this legislation.