Centre to Grant Citizenship to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh Minorities Under Citizenship Act, 1955

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 3rd Nov. Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, the Central Government has decided to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who have arrived in the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan and are currently residing in two districts of Gujarat.

The decision to grant citizenship under the Citizenship Act of 1955 rather than the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 (CAA) is significant.

Though the CAA also provides for the grant of Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, no one has been granted citizenship as of yet because the rules under the Act have not been framed by the government.

According to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the Gujarat districts of Anand and Mehsana will be allowed to register as citizens of India under Section 5 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and will be granted a certificate of naturalisation under Section 6 of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.

How is citizenship going to be granted?

All such people must apply online, and their applications will be verified by the collector at the district level.

The application and reports thereon shall be simultaneously made accessible online to the central government, the notification read.

The collector may make such an inquiry as he considers necessary for ascertaining the suitability of the applicant and for that purpose, forward the application online to such agencies for verification and comments as may be required for completing such an inquiry, it said.

After completing the entire process, the collector, being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, will grant him or her citizenship of India by registration or naturalisation and will issue a certificate of registration or naturalisation, as the case may be, the notification said.