India is currently witnessing widespread protests against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the anticipated NRC (National Population Register). Although the Prime Minister has said that no decision has as yet been taken on an all-India NRC, and that citizenship will not be taken away from any person, there has been one common refrain: namely, CAA is “anti-secular”.
These protests began immediately after the Indian Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill in December 2019. The new Act makes it easier and quicker for “persecuted religious minorities” from the neighboring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to obtain Indian citizenship. However, In effect the new Act fast tracks citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Paris and Christians from these countries who had entered India before 31 December 2014. Since Muslims constitute the majority in the identified countries, migrants from this community are not to benefit from this amendment.
The Indian government has explained this decision as a measure to protect religious minorities in this region – minorities whose numbers are steadily decreasing in the identified countries. Yet, this explanation has not satisfied the protesters who maintain that claims of citizenship should be delinked from considerations of religion and religious identity. For them CAA contravenes the secular character of the Indian constitution.
