Explained: How India grants citizenship to minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan

The Centre will continue to grant citizenship to six minority communities – Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain – from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed two district collectors from Gujarat’s Mehsana and Anand to give certificates to legal migrants currently living in the state.

The notification issued on 31 October was issued under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and not the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019. While the CAA also grants citizenship to six minority communities from the three neighbouring nations, the law has not come into effect. Hence citizenship cannot be granted under it.

Also read: CAA and unfinished trauma of Partition: Time to look at the issue in a holistic manner

How is citizenship granted to migrants?

Citizenship is a subject that comes under the purview of the Centre.

Under the current rules, India grants citizenship to legal migrants who have applied under Section 5 (by registration) and Section 6 (naturalisation) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Under Section 5, the Centre may grant citizenship to a person of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration; a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India; a person who is married to an Indian citizen; and a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and has been residing in India for one year immediately before making an application for registration among others.

Under Section 6, where an application is made in the prescribed manner by any person of full age and capacity for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation to him, the Central Government may, if satisfied that the applicant is qualified for naturalisation under the provisions of the Third Schedule, grant to him a certificate of naturalisation.

The candidates who apply for citizenship are scrutinised by the Intelligence Bureau teams. What has the MHA said in the latest notification?

According to a report in The Indian Express, the MHA said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the central government hereby directs that powers exercisable by it, for registration as a citizen of India under section 5, or for grant of certificate of naturalisation under section 6, of the Citizenship Act, 1955, in respect of any person belonging to the communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians (hereinafter referred to as the applicant), residing in the districts of Anand and Mehsana in the State of Gujarat, shall also be exercisable by the Collector of District Anand and District Mehsana, within whose jurisdiction the applicant is ordinarily resident, in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.”

It asked authorities to follow all conditions including the application for registration as a citizen of India. The application should be made online, the verification of the application should be done by the collector at the district level and the application and the reports thereon should be made accessible simultaneously to the central government on an online portal. Is this the first time the Centre has delegated powers?

No, in the past the MHA has given district magistrates and collectors the authority to grant citizenship.

Similar orders were passed in 2016, 2018, and 2021 which allowed district magistrates in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Punjab to grant citizenship certificates to migrants from six communities who entered India with valid documents, reports News18.

In 2016 and 2018, the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kutch granted citizenship to minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In August this year, Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi handed over Indian citizenship certificates to 40 Pakistani Hindus at the Ahmedabad collectorate. This year, 107 Pakistani Hindus were given Indian citizen citizenship by the Ahmedabad district collector.

How many minorities are granted citizenship in recent years?

According to the government, 3,117 people belonging to minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were granted Indian citizenship between 2018 to 2021, reports Hindustan Times.

The government received 8,244 citizenship applications from the neighbouring countries in these four years and granted citizenship to 3,117 applicants.

“All foreign nationals including refuge seekers are governed by the provisions contained in The Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and The Citizenship Act, 1955,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha in December 2021.

What the CAA aims to change?

India does not have a policy for refugees. However, the CAA seeks to grant citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Parsi, Christian and Buddhist communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. With inputs from agencies

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