Govt To Grant Citizenship To Minorities From Three Neighbouring Countries Living In Two Gujarat Districts

This decision to confer citizenship under the Citizenship Act of 1955 rather than the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 is critical, and it is also tied to the upcoming polls.

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The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday agreed to grant citizenship rights to minority community members from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who live in two districts of Gujarat, news agency IANS reported. 

The development comes ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections.

The MHA authorised district collectors in two more Gujarat districts, Mehsana and Anand, to issue citizenship certificates to members of the Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist, and Jain communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, as per a notification issued by the ministry. 

The Citizenship will be granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

"These individuals have been living in Gujarat as refugees for a long time," IANS reported. 

According to the notification, all of them will be able to register as citizens of India or receive a certificate of citizenship under Section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the requirements of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.

"All such people will be required to submit their applications online, which will be verified by the collector at the district level," said the home ministry.

Furthermore, the application and report must be made available to the Central Government online at the same time. If necessary, the Collector may perform any type of investigation to determine whether the applicant is eligible for citizenship.

This decision to confer citizenship under the Citizenship Act of 1955 rather than the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 is critical, and it is also tied to the forthcoming Gujarat elections.

The MHA has previously delegated such powers to district magistrates or collectors, with similar orders issued in 2016, 2018, and 2021 empowering District Magistrates in several districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab to grant citizenship certificates to migrants from the six communities who entered India on valid documents. Citizenship is a central issue, and the MHA occasionally delegated such duties to State officials.

In the CAA passed in 2019, there is a provision to give citizenship to the minorities of the three countries. However, it is yet to be implemented as its rules have not been framed, which is why citizenship cannot be granted under this.

Candidates for citizenship are screened by Intelligence Bureau teams from both the state and federal governments. According to the statement, 107 Pakistani Hindus have been granted Indian citizenship by the Ahmedabad district collector as of 2022.

(With Inputs From IANS)