Policy Center for the New South Policy Brief Policy Brief April 2020, PB-20/23 The Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) By Abdessalam Jaldi Summary On December 11, 2019, the Indian Parliament approved the Citizenship Amendment Act amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. The finalized Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) makes foreign undocumented migrants and religious refugees (including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship, but not if they are Muslim. As many as 125 lawmakers voted in the favour of the act whilst 99 members voted against it. The Indian government, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), declared that the act only seeks to protect religious minorities who fled persecution in the aforementioned countries. However, the political opposition maintains that the act is unconstitutional because it bases citizenship on a person’s religion and further marginalizes India’s millions strong Muslim community. We ask: does the CAA uphold the Constitution and the provisions of International Law? Does the Citizenship Amendment Act comply with India’s Constitutional norms? Indian citizenship is regulated by the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Act specifies that citizenship may be acquired in India through five methods: by birth within the Indian territory, by descent, through registration, by naturalization (extended residence in India), or by incorporations of territory into India. When India achieved independence in 1947, citizenship was established on the basis of Jus Solis (birth within a territory), meaning www.policycenter.ma that people were members of the political community regardless of their religion or ethnicity. In 2004, this scheme was amended by the introduction of the term “illegal migrant”, which was defined as someone who enters or stays in India without legal authorization. Under the CAA, the specified classes of illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will not be treated as illegal migrants, making them eligible for citizenship. Upon acquiring citizenship, such migrants shall be deemed to be Indian citizens from the date of their entry into India and all legal proceedings regarding their status as illegal migrants or their citizenship will be closed. However, the act provides differential treatment 1