An Open Access Journal from The Law Brigade (Publishing) Group 269 an easier path for all non-Muslim immigrants from adjoining countries to attain citizenship leaves practitioners of Islam unfairly disadvantaged when seeking to immigrate to India. The benefit to persecuted minorities within the Act only extends to Muslim neighboring countries. This is where the debate has largely taken place, especially considering that India already has a large number of refugees, for example Tibetan refugees from China, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, and Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka, all of who have been inexplicably excluded. UNDERSTANDING CAA AND THE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT? In 1955, the Indian Citizenship Act came to be enacted that governed the basis on which citizenship will be granted. The Act provides for determination of citizenship on the basis of birth, by registration, by naturalization or by descent. The CAA 2019 amends the Citizenship Act, specifically the provision that defines illegal migrants and their ability to apply for citizenship by naturalizationii. In August 1949, some members of the Constituent Assembly proposed to introduce a similar religion-based conception of citizenship, which automatically gave Indian citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs. The reason for such a proposal was also similar to that of CAA 2019 – the belief that India is the ‘natural home’ for Hindus and Sikhs. Our founding fathers rejected this line of thought. Instead, they argued in favour of a plural, inclusive, and secular conception of citizenship as we see it today. Thus, it is clear that the framers of our Constitution expressly rejected the core ideas behind the CAA. The Constitutional validity of Citizenship Amendment Act 2016 & 2019: The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2016 also requires a mention here as the amendment is closely related to the 2019 amendment. The 2016 Amendment targeted to allow illegal migrants from certain minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to apply for Indian Citizenship. The effects of the amendments render the situation of an Indian Muslim, who is citizen increasingly suspect and unstable in the state Assam. The constitutional validity of the amendments has been questioned on the basis that they discriminate almost entirely on the basis of religion. Such severe actions purely on the basis of religion go against the principles of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. For example, if a community JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH Volume 6 Issue 4 – ISSN 2455 2437 August 2020 www.thelawbrigade.com Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3665733