Controversial Indian citizenship bill faces crucial test

The controversial Indian Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, or CAB, will be tabled in Upper House of the Parliament Wednesday afternoon, two days after the legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha, local media reported.

The CAB is expected to be followed by a debate in the Upper House.

The bill is accused of discriminating on the basis of religion by identifying only non-Muslims refugees as those who would be eligible for Indian citizenship.

The government has rejected the charge, arguing that the original provisions of the Citizenship Act, allowing any foreigner to apply for citizenship, remain unchanged and that the amendment is expressly aimed at six minority religions from three countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh).

WHAT THE CAB SAYS

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill aims to protect non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have faced religious persecution.

Under the Bill, any person belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian faith from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan will not be considered an illegal immigrant if the person entered into India on or before December 31, 2014.

With the loss of the illegal immigrant tag, such a person would be eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill eases this process as well. The Bill provides for such refugees to be eligible for Indian citizenship after residing in India for five years, instead of 11 years earlier.

Essentially, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill makes becoming an Indian citizen easier for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014 as compared to people of other nationalities/faiths.