Citizenship Amendment Act

Examining its Impact As A New Hope or Despair!

Abstract

The Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA is many things at the same time a political promise, a new hope, persecuted migrants, a long pending demand, and a controversial law. The Citizenship Act 1955 has been amended several times since its enactment, 2019 being the latest one, this amended act was not enforced until the year 2024 on the eve of elections making it the first religion-based citizenship test, which fast-tracks the process of acquiring Indian citizenship on meeting certain conditions. The controversy surrounding this amendment act is that the law has created two tiers of citizenship in India: non-Muslims and Muslims, which resulted in widespread protests, and sectarian violence, killing scores of people, and wounding hundreds. The law states that if any people from any of the five communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, and Christians, belonging from these three countries namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan had entered India before 31.12.2014 their process of acquiring Indian citizenship would be fast-tracked, this is the law on which the controversy and misinterpretation lie. This paper will delve deep into the myths and facts about the law, whom would this law benefit, and who would be discriminated against if at all any.