Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

The Indian Constitution implemented in 1950 guaranteed citizenship to all of the country's residents at the commencement of the constitution, and made no distinction on the basis of religion.{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first1=Angana P. |editor-last1=Chatterji |editor-first2=Thomas Blom |editor-last2=Hansen |editor-first3=Christophe |editor-last3=Jaffrelot |encyclopedia=Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism Is Changing India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zcObDwAAQBAJ |date=August 2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-007817-1 |title=A De Facto Ethnic Democracy |first1=Christophe |last1=Jaffrelot |pages=41–67 |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217100431/https://books.google.com/books?id=zcObDwAAQBAJ |archive-date=17 December 2019}}{{sfn |Roy |2010 |pp=33–34}} In 1955, the Indian government passed the Citizenship Act, by which all people born in India subject to some limitations were accorded citizenship. The Act also provided two means for foreigners to acquire Indian citizenship. People from "undivided India"{{efn|The Act defines "undivided India" as "India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935, as originally enacted".{{sfnp|Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955|2004|p=13, item 2(1)(h)}} It included, in addition to India, the present day Pakistan and Bangladesh.}} were given a means of registration after seven years of residency in India. Those from other countries were given a means of naturalisation after twelve years of residency in India.{{sfn|Roy|2010|pp=37–38}}{{harvp|Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955|2004}}: See p. 15, clause 5 for "seven years"; see p. 27, The Third Schedule for "eleven years" followed by "twelve months". Political developments in the 1980s, particularly those related to the violent Assam movement against migrants from Bangladesh, triggered revisions to the Citizenship Act.Niraja Gopal Jayal (2019), Reconfiguring Citizenship in Contemporary India, Journal of South Asian Studies, 42(1), pp. 34–36 (context: 33–50), {{doi|10.1080/00856401.2019.1555874}}, Quote: "From the 1980s onwards, the legal and constitutional conception of the Indian citizen started to undergo a subtle transformation, through amendments to the Citizenship Act, in response to political developments. The latest in a series of such amendments is the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, introduced in parliament in July 2016 and passed in the lower house of India's parliament in January 2019. [...] The present amendment consolidates a trend that began with the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 1985, which amended the provisions pertaining to naturalisation. This gave legal expression to the Assam Accord between the Rajiv Gandhi government and the Assamese students' organisations that had led the agitation against the enfranchisement of migrants from Bangladesh in Assam. [...] The 1985 amendment to the Citizenship Act that followed the Accord introduced a new section titled 'Special Provisions as to Citizenship of Persons Covered by the Assam Accord'. Seeking to allay anxieties about migrants who had come in from Bangladesh [...]"{{cite book |author=Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty |title=Assam: The Accord, The Discord |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=F46nDwAAQBAJ |year= 2019 |publisher= Penguin |isbn=978-93-5305-622-3 |pages=1–14, Chapters: Introduction, 2, 9, 10}}{{harvp|Sharma|2019|p=522}} The Act was first amended in 1985 after the Assam Accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi government, granting citizenship to all Bangladeshi migrants that arrived before 1971 subject to some provisos. The government also agreed to identify all migrants that arrived afterwards, remove their names from the electoral rolls, and expel them from the country.Mihika Poddar (2018), The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016: international law on religion-based discrimination and naturalisation law, Indian Law Review, 2(1), 108–118, {{doi |10.1080/24730580.2018.1512290}}{{citation |first1=Sanjoy |last1=Hazarika |date=13 December 2019 |title=Assam and the CAB |newspaper=CNBC–TV18 |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/views/assam-and-the-cab-go-beyond-damage-control-listen-to-the-people-4865901.htm }}: "In the 1980s, the Congress Party faced the brunt of the 'anti-foreigner' movement with confrontation and violence erupting in the state till a 1985 accord with the government of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi appeared to assuage the situation. Foreign nationals would be detected and expelled as per provisions of law after 1971, it said, and the people of the state would be provided preferential treatment and constitutional safeguards to protect their identity."

The Citizenship Act was further amended in 1992, 2003, 2005 and 2015. In December 2003, the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 with far-reaching revisions of the Citizenship Act. It added the notion of "illegal immigrants" to the Act, making them ineligible to apply for citizenship (by registration or naturalisation), and declaring their children also as illegal immigrants.{{sfn|Roy|2010|p=138}}{{sfnp|Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955|2004|p=2}} Illegal immigrants were defined as citizens of other countries who entered India without valid travel documents, or who remained in the country beyond the period permitted by their travel documents.{{Cite journal |last=Sinharay |first=Praskanva |date=2019-03-04 |title=To Be a Hindu Citizen: Politics of Dalit Migrants in Contemporary West Bengal |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2019.1581696 |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=359–374 |doi=10.1080/00856401.2019.1581696 |s2cid=150566285 |issn=0085-6401|url-access=subscription }} They can be deported or imprisoned.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-50670393 |title=Citizenship Amendment Bill: India's new 'anti-Muslim' law explained |date=11 December 2019 |newspaper=BBC News}}

The 2003 amendment also mandated the Government of India to create and maintain a National Register of Citizens. The bill was supported by the Indian National Congress, as well as the Left parties, such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)).[https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/dual-citizenship-bill-passed-in-rajya-sabha/article27816495.ece Dual Citizenship Bill passed in Rajya Sabha] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228192910/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/dual-citizenship-bill-passed-in-rajya-sabha/article27816495.ece |date=28 December 2019 }}, The Hindu, 19 December 2003.Neena Vyas, Anita Joshua, [https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/dual-citizenship-bill-passed/article27817270.ece Dual citizenship Bill passed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228200712/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/dual-citizenship-bill-passed/article27817270.ece |date=28 December 2019 }}, The Hindu, 23 December 2003.{{efn|In 2012, the then CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat had written to Manmohan Singh, who was prime minister at the time, reminding him of his 2003 statement and urging him to make a suitable amendment in policy to allow "minority community refugees" easy citizenship.[https://thewire.in/politics/by-listing-religions-modis-caa-broke-atal-manmohan-left-concord-on-persecuted-minorities By Listing Religions, Modi's CAA Broke Atal-Manmohan-Left Concord on Persecuted Minorities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229211546/https://thewire.in/politics/by-listing-religions-modis-caa-broke-atal-manmohan-left-concord-on-persecuted-minorities |date=29 December 2019 }}, The Wire, 29 December 2019.}} During the parliamentary debate on the amendment, the leader of opposition, Manmohan Singh, stated that refugees belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and other countries had faced persecution, and requested a liberal approach to granting them citizenship.[https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/78358/2/ID_200_18122003_13_p381_p389_19.pdf Parliamentary Debates Official Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828102335/https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/78358/2/ID_200_18122003_13_p381_p389_19.pdf |date=28 August 2022 }}, Volume 200, Number 13, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Government of India, 18 December 2003, page 383, Quote: "After the partition of our country, the minorities in countries like Bangladesh, have faced persecution, and it is our moral obligation that if circumstances force people, these unfortunate people, to seek refuge in our country, our approach to granting citizenship to these unfortunate persons should be more liberal. I sincerely hope that the hon. Deputy Prime Minister will bear this in mind in charting out the future course of action with regard to the Citizenship Act."[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-digs-up-Manmohan-speech-seeking-citizenship-for-persecuted-refugees/articleshow/72894010.cms BJP digs up Manmohan speech seeking citizenship for persecuted refugees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220200535/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bjp-digs-up-manmohan-speech-seeking-citizenship-for-persecuted-refugees/articleshow/72894010.cms |date=20 December 2019 }}, The Times of India, 20 December 2019;
[https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-tale-of-two-demands/article30351525.ece A tale of two demands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105192308/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-tale-of-two-demands/article30351525.ece |date=5 January 2020 }}, The Hindu (10 December 2019);
[https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/columnists/historical-promises-historical-promises.html Historical Promises] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226131043/https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/columnists/historical-promises-historical-promises.html |date=26 December 2019 }}, The Pioneer (24 December 2019)M. K. Venu, [https://thewire.in/politics/by-listing-religions-modis-caa-broke-atal-manmohan-left-concord-on-persecuted-minorities By Listing Religions, Modi's CAA Broke Atal-Manmohan-Left Concord on Persecuted Minorities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229211546/https://thewire.in/politics/by-listing-religions-modis-caa-broke-atal-manmohan-left-concord-on-persecuted-minorities |date=29 December 2019 }}, The Wire, 29 December 2019. According to M.K. Venu, the formulation of the 2003 amendment discussed by Advani and Singh was based on the idea that Muslim groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan that had experienced persecution also needed to be treated with compassion.

A very large number of illegal immigrants, the largest numbers of whom are from Bangladesh, live in India. The Task Force on Border Management quoted the figure of 15 million illegal migrants in 2001. In 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government stated in Parliament that there were 12 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India.

{{citation |first1=Pushpita |last1=Das |title=Illegal Migration From Bangladesh: Deportation, Border Fences and Work Permits |publisher=Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses |year=2016 |isbn=978-93-82169-69-7 |url=https://idsa.in/system/files/monograph/monograph56.pdf |pages=26–27 }}

The reasons for the scale of migration include a porous border, historical migration patterns, economic reasons, and cultural and linguistic ties.{{sfn|Ranjan|2019|p=4}} Many illegal migrants from Bangladesh had eventually received the right to vote. According to Niraja Jayal, this enfranchisement was widely described as an attempt to win elections using the votes of the illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Niraja Gopal Jayal (2019), Reconfiguring Citizenship in Contemporary India, Journal of South Asian Studies, 42(1), pp. 34–36 (context: 33–50), {{doi|10.1080/00856401.2019.1555874}}, Quote: "The Accord was entered into in 1985, after the agitation led to the Nellie massacre during the election of 1983. The enfranchisement of the migrants was widely attributed to the Congress. The common perception was that all Bangladeshi immigrants were Muslims, and the Congress Party was seen as the prime beneficiary of their votes. The Accord put in place measures for the detection of foreigners and their deletion from the state's electoral rolls. [...] "As Kamal Sadiq's book showed, 'illegal' migrants were more likely to be in possession of 'documentary citizenship'—papers like ration cards and voter cards—certifying their citizenship, while natives and their descendants might well have no documentation at all"

{{cite book |first=Rizwana |last=Shamshad |title=Bangladeshi Migrants in India: Foreigners, Refugees, or Infiltrators? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9789DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT99 |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-909159-1 |pages=99–100}}, Quote: "The electoral rolls prepared for the election found that the number of voters had increased significantly. There were complaints against the sudden inclusion of 70,000 foreigners in the voter list."

Bangladeshi scholar Abul Barkat estimated that over 11 million Hindus have left Bangladesh for India between 1964 and 2013, at a rate of 230,612 annually.

{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/No-Hindus-will-be-left-in-Bangladesh-after-30-years-professor/article16675228.ece|title=No Hindus will be left in Bangladesh after 30 years: professor|newspaper=The Hindu|date=22 November 2016|via=www.thehindu.com}}

[https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/11/20/abul-barkat-632-hindus-left-country-day ‘No Hindus will be left after 30 years’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202200810/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/11/20/abul-barkat-632-hindus-left-country-day |date=2 February 2021 }}, Dhaka Tribune, 20 November 2016. The reasons were religious persecution and discrimination, especially at the hands of the post-independence military regimes.Himadri Chatterjee, [https://thewire.in/rights/scheduled-caste-refugees-bengal-caa-protest Why Scheduled Caste Refugees of Bengal Are Resisting CAA and NRC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101163037/https://thewire.in/rights/scheduled-caste-refugees-bengal-caa-protest |date=1 January 2020 }}, The Wire, 31 December 2019.

{{harvp|Gillan|2007|p=85}}: Quoting Ranabir Sammadar: "Not only are the Muslim peasants depeasantized, pauperized and lumpenized on their arrival in India, the Hindu peasantry of Bangladesh is cynically and most systematically robbed of land on communal considerations in the villages of Bangladesh and the peasants are thus forced to flee."

An unknown number of Pakistani Hindu refugees also live in India. An estimated 5,000 refugees arrive per year, citing religious persecution and forced conversion.{{citation |last1=Jaffrelot |first1=Christophe |title=The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XdeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT332 |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-061330-3 |pages=331–333}}[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-34645370 Why Pakistani Hindus leave their homes for India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205051707/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-34645370 |date=5 December 2019 }}, BBC News, 28 October 2015.Shreyasee Raj, [https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/safe-but-betrayed-pakistani-hindu-refugees-in-india/ Safe But Betrayed: Pakistani Hindu Refugees in India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531052659/https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/safe-but-betrayed-pakistani-hindu-refugees-in-india/ |date=31 May 2019 }}, The Diplomat, 22 January 2019.

India is not a signatory to either the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol.{{sfn|Sarker|2017|pp=21–22}}{{cite book |author=US Department of State |title=World Refugee Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_jAbSIBNQEC |year=1991 |publisher=The Bureau for Refugee Programs, US Government |pages=42–43}} It does not have a national policy on refugees. All refugees are classed as "illegal migrants". While India has been willing to host refugees, its traditional position formulated by Jawaharlal Nehru is that such refugees must return to their home countries after the situation returns to normal.{{cite news |url=https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/refugees-rights-india-south-asian-world-news-headlines-97021/ |title=The Status of Refugees in India |last1=Ahmad |first1=Nafees |date=12 September 2017 |newspaper=Fair Observer}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/Citizenship-without-bias/article14587201.ece |title=Citizenship without bias |last1=Suryanarayan |first1=V. |date=25 August 2016 |newspaper=The Hindu |last2=Ramaseshan |first2=Geeta |issn=0971-751X}} According to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, India hosts refugees in excess of 456,000,{{cite news |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/supplements/a-question-of-fair-play-169995.html |title=A question of fair play |date=10 October 2016 |newspaper=The Statesman |access-date=22 December 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222222021/https://www.thestatesman.com/supplements/a-question-of-fair-play-169995.html |url-status=dead }} with about 200,000 from "non-neighbouring" countries hosted via the UNHCR.[https://www.unhcr.org/4cd96e919.pdf India] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219200447/https://www.unhcr.org/4cd96e919.pdf |date=19 December 2019 }}, UNHCR Global Appeal, 2011.{{efn |Indian government statistics in 2014 show 289,394 "stateless persons" in India. The majority were from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (about 100,000 each), followed by those from Tibet, Myanmar, Pakistan and Afghanistan.}} According to Shuvro Sarker, since the 1950s and particularly since the 1990s, the Indian governments under various political parties have studied and drafted laws for the naturalisation of refugees and asylum seekers. These drafts have struggled with issues relating to a mass influx of refugees, urban planning, cost of basic services, the obligations to protected tribes, and the impact on pre-existing regional poverty levels within India.{{sfn|Sarker|2017|pp=55–67, 192–198}}

The "detection, deletion and deportation" of illegal migrants has been on the agenda of the BJP since 1996.{{sfn|Gupta|2019|pp=2–3}} In the 2016 assembly elections for the border state of Assam, the BJP leaders campaigned in the state promising voters that they would rid Assam of the Bangladeshis. Simultaneously, they also promised to protect Hindus who had fled religious persecution in Bangladesh.{{sfn|Roy|2019|p=28}} According to commentators, in the context of an effort to identify and deport illegal immigrants, the proposal to grant citizenship took a new meaning. Illegal migrants could be granted citizenship if they were non-Muslim, on the grounds that they were refugees; only Muslims would be deported.{{citation |first1=Apurva |last1=Thakur |title=Why the Citizenship Amendment Bill Goes Against the Basic Tenets of the Constitution |url=https://www.epw.in/engage/article/why-the-citizenship-amendment-goes-against-the-basic-tenets-of-the-constitution |newspaper=EPW Engage |volume=53 |pages=7–8 |number=13 |date=31 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218185235/https://www.epw.in/engage/article/why-the-citizenship-amendment-goes-against-the-basic-tenets-of-the-constitution |archive-date=18 December 2019}}

In its manifesto for the 2014 Indian general election, the BJP promised to provide a "natural home" for persecuted Hindu refugees.{{Cite news |title=BJP offer of 'natural home' for Hindu refugees triggers debate |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=9 April 2014 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bjp-offer-of-natural-home-for-hindu-refugees-triggers-debate/story-aU5sVqOSrWCpcIE29qMKXJ.html }} The year before the 2016 elections in Assam, the government legalised refugees belonging to religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh, granting them long-term visas. Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to "minority communities" were exempted from the requirements of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946.[https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=126688 Exemptions to minority community nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan in regularization of their entry and stay in India] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216162545/https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx%3Frelid%3D126688 |date=16 December 2019 }}, Ministry of Home Affairs, 7 September 2015. Specifically mentioned were "Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists," who had been "compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution". Eligibility for the exemption was made contingent on a migrant having arrived in India by 31 December 2014.

The BJP government introduced a bill to amend the citizenship law in 2016, which would have made non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship.{{cite news |title=Lok Sabha passes Citizenship Bill amid protests, seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslims from 3 countries |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/citizenship-amendment-bill-passed-lok-sabha-assam-protests-1426345-2019-01-08 |newspaper=India Today |access-date=26 January 2019 }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/citizenship-amendment-bill-2019 |title=The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Highlights, Issues and Summary |date=9 December 2019 |website=PRS Legislative Research }} The bill stalled in parliament following widespread political opposition and protests in northeast India. Opponents of the bill in Assam and the northeastern states of India stated that any migration from Bangladesh "irrespective of religion" would cause "loss of political rights and culture of the indigenous people".{{cite news |title=Explained: Why Assam, Northeast are angry |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/assam-protests-citizenship-amendment-bill-nrc-northeast-bandh-5543785/ |newspaper=The Indian Express |access-date=14 February 2019 |date=20 January 2019 }} According to Niraja Jayal, while the BJP had promised to grant Indian citizenship to all Hindu migrants from Bangladesh in its election campaigns during the 2010s, the draft Amendment bill angered many in Assam, including its own political allies because they viewed the amendment as a violation of the Assam Accord.{{sfn|Jayal|2019}} That accord promised to identify and deport all illegal Bangladeshi migrants who entered the state after 1971, "regardless of their religious identity".{{sfn|Jayal|2019}} In 2018, as the draft of this Amendment was being discussed, numerous Assamese organisations petitioned and agitated against it. They fear that the Amendment will encourage more migration and diminish employment opportunities to the native residents in the state.{{sfn|Jayal|2019}}

In parallel to the drafting of an amendment to the 1955 Citizenship Act, the BJP government completed an effort to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam. The process for creating the NRC had been put in place by the Citizenship rules enacted in 2003, and had been implemented in Assam under Supreme Court supervision as a result of a 2014 Supreme Court ruling.{{sfn|Roy|2019|p=29}} This was mandated under prior peace agreements in northeast, and the Assam Accord in particular.[https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/IN_850815_Assam%20Accord.pdf Accord between AASU, AAGSP and the Central Government on the Foreign National Issue] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221165354/https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/IN_850815_Assam%20Accord.pdf |date=21 December 2019 }}, Assam Accord, United Nations Archives (15 August 1985){{sfn|Gupta|2019}} The updated register was made public in August 2019; approximately 1.9 million residents were not on the list, and were in danger of losing their citizenship.{{Cite web |author=Chanakya |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/the-cab-nrc-package-is-flawed-and-dangerous/story-mHB05zOPf20vlcnSydvQdI.html |title=The CAB-NRC package is flawed and dangerous |date=7 December 2019 |newspaper=Hindustan Times }} Many of those affected were Bengali Hindus, who constitute a major voter base for the BJP; according to commentators, the BJP withdrew its support for the Assam NRC towards its end for this reason.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-49520593 Assam NRC: What next for 1.9 million 'stateless' Indians?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108214051/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-49520593 |date=8 January 2020 }}, BBC News, 31 August 2019.{{cite news |title=Citizenship Amendment Bill: 'Anti-Muslim' law challenged in India court |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50739593 |access-date=16 December 2019 |newspaper=BBC |date=12 December 2019 }}{{efn|The excluded people of the Assam NRC were 0.5 million Bengali Hindus and 0.7 million Muslims, with the remainder made up of local people and Hindus from north India.[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/five-lakh-bengali-hindu-nrc-rejects-will-get-citizenship/articleshow/72465093.cms ‘Five lakh Bengali Hindu NRC rejects will get citizenship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212142901/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/five-lakh-bengali-hindu-nrc-rejects-will-get-citizenship/articleshow/72465093.cms |date=12 December 2019 }}, The Times of India, 11 December 2019.Sanjoy Hazarika, [https://www.thehinducentre.com/the-arena/current-issues/article29724344.ece Assam's Tangled Web of Citizenship and the Importance of a Consensus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221012325/https://www.thehinducentre.com/the-arena/current-issues/article29724344.ece |date=21 December 2019 }}, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, 18 October 2019.}} On 19 November 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah, declared in the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Indian parliament) that the National Register of Citizens would be implemented throughout the country.{{cite news |title=Amit Shah: NRC to apply nationwide, no person of any religion should worry |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/amit-shah-nrc-rajya-sabha-1620810-2019-11-20 |access-date=22 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today |date=20 November 2019 }}

The BJP government first introduced a bill to amend the citizenship law in 2016, which would have made non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship. Although this bill was passed by the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian parliament, it stalled in the Rajya Sabha, following widespread political opposition and protests in northeast India.

The BJP reiterated its commitment to amend the citizenship act in its 2019 election campaign. It stated that religious minorities such as Hindus and Sikhs are persecuted in neighbouring Muslim-majority countries, and promised to fast track a path to citizenship for non-Muslim refugees.[https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha-2019/story/bjp-top-promises-1496617-2019-04-08 BJP manifesto 2019: Top 10 promises for next 5 years] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102114010/https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha-2019/story/bjp-top-promises-1496617-2019-04-08 |date=2 November 2019 }}, India Today (18 April 2019), Quote: "We are committed to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Bill for the protection of individuals of religious minority communities from neighbouring countries escaping persecution. [...] We reiterate our commitment to protect the linguistic, cultural and social identity of the people of Northeast. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs escaping persecution from India's neighbouring countries will be given citizenship in India."[https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-government-considers-a-muslim-ban-11555629051 India’s Government Considers a ‘Muslim Ban’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223114746/https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-government-considers-a-muslim-ban-11555629051 |date=23 December 2019 }}, The Wall Street Journal, Sadanand Dhume (18 April 2019) After the elections, the BJP government drafted a bill that addressed the concerns of its northeastern states. It excluded Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur, except for non-tribal cities exempted under pre-existing regulations. It also excluded tribal areas of Assam. The Indian government, while proposing an Amendment, said, that its bill aims to grant quicker access to citizenship to those who have fled religious persecution in neighbouring countries and have taken refuge in India.{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/12/12/indias-new-citizenship-law-outrages-muslims |title=India's new citizenship law outrages Muslims |date=12 December 2019 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |quote=When Amit Shah, India's home minister, proposed his bill in parliament on December 9th, he framed it as an act of mercy. Henceforth, he promised, people who have fled persecution in neighbouring countries and taken refuge in India would be granted quicker access to citizenship. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223000520/https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/12/12/indias-new-citizenship-law-outrages-muslims |archive-date=23 December 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/11/asia/india-citizenship-amendment-bill-intl-hnk/index.html |title=India passes controversial citizenship bill that excludes Muslims |first1=Helen |last1=Regan |first2=Swati |last2=Gupta |first3=Omar |last3=Khan |publisher=CNN |quote=The government, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the bill seeks to protect religious minorities who fled persecution in their home countries.}}

The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016 as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. It was referred to the Joint parliamentary committee on 12 August 2016. The Committee submitted its report on 7 January 2019 to Parliament. The Bill was taken into consideration and passed by Lok Sabha on 8 January 2019. It was pending for consideration and passing by the Rajya Sabha. Consequent to dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, this Bill has lapsed.{{cite news |title=Explained: Why the Citizenship Amendment Bill is dead, for now |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-the-citizenship-amendment-bill-is-dead-for-now-5582573/ |newspaper=The Indian Express |access-date=14 February 2019 |date=13 February 2019 }}

After the formation of 17th Lok Sabha, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on 4 December 2019 for introduction in the parliament.{{cite news |title=Controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to Be Tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday |url=https://thewire.in/government/citizenship-amendment-bill-to-be-tabled-in-lok-sabha-on-monday |newspaper=The Wire |access-date=8 December 2019 }} The Bill was introduced in 17th Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on 9 December 2019 and was passed on the midnight of 10 December 2019 despite attempts by the opposition to filibuster the bill,{{cite news |url=https://liveupdates.hindustantimes.com/india/parliament-winter-session-live-updates-citizenship-amendment-bill-in-lok-sabha-21575867624874.html |title=Citizenship Bill gets Lok Sabha nod, Rajya Sabha test next |date=9 December 2019 |newspaper=Hindustan Times }} with 311 MPs voting in favour and 80 against it.{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/will-citizenship-bill-pass-in-rajya-sabha-1626919-2019-12-10 |title=Citizenship Bill has smooth sail in Lok Sabha, will Amit Shah clear Rajya Sabha test? |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today }}{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/citizenship-amendment-bill-federal-us-commission-seeks-sanctions-against-home-minister-amit-shah/articleshow/72449798.cms |title=Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Federal US commission seeks sanctions against home minister Amit Shah |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India }}{{cite news |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/amit-shah-to-table-citizenship-amendment-bill-in-lok-sabha-today-11575855950416.html |title=Amit Shah to table Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today |last1=Das |first1=Shaswati |date=9 December 2019 |newspaper=Livemint }}

The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019 with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes against it.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliament-clears-citizenship-amendment-bill/article30279517.ece |title=After a heated debate, Rajya Sabha clears Citizenship (Amendment) Bill |last1=Nath |first1=Damini |date=11 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |last2=Singh |first2=Vijaita |issn=0971-751X }}{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/cab-set-to-be-law-as-rs-passes-it-125-99-indefinite-curfew-and-army-in-guwahati/articleshow/72481979.cms |title=CAB set to be law as RS passes it 125–105, indefinite curfew and Army in Guwahati |date=12 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India }} The parties that voted in favour in spite of not being in the ruling coalition included JD(U), AIADMK, BJD, TDP and YSRCP.

After receiving assent from the President of India on 12 December 2019, the bill assumed the status of an act.{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/citizenship-amendment-bill-gets-presidents-assent-becomes-act/articleshow/72498176.cms |title=Citizenship (Amendment) Bill gets President's assent, becomes act |date=13 December 2019 |newspaper=The Economic Times }} The act came into force on 10 January 2020.{{Cite web |url=http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/214646.pdf |title=The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 |date=12 December 2019 |website=The Gazette of India }} The implementation of the CAA began on 20 December 2019, when Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya gave citizenship certificates to seven refugees from Pakistan.{{cite news |title=Union Minister gives citizenship papers to Pak refugees |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/union-minister-gives-citizenship-papers-to-pak-refugees/1691133 |access-date=21 December 2019 |date=21 December 2019 }}

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, by inserting the following provisos in section 2, sub-section (1), after clause (b):

{{blockquote|Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act;}}

A new section 6B was inserted (in the section concerning naturalisation), with four clauses, the first of which stated:

{{blockquote|(1) The Central Government or an authority specified by it in this behalf may, subject to such conditions, restrictions and manner as may be prescribed, on an application made in this behalf, grant a certificate of registration or certificate of naturalisation to a person referred to in the proviso to clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2.}}

The "exempted" classes of persons were previously defined in the Foreigners (Amendment) Order, 2015 (issued under the Foreigners Act, 1946):[http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2015/165755.pdf The Gazette of India, Issue 553 of 2015] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216195711/http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2015/165755.pdf |date=16 December 2019 }}, 8 September 2015.

{{blockquote |3A. Exemption of certain class of foreigners. – (1) Persons belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered into India on or before 31 December 2014

: (a) without valid documents including passport or other travel documents and who have been exempted under rule 4 from the provisions of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 [...]; or

: (b) with valid documents including passport or other travel document and the validity of any of such documents has expired,

are hereby granted exemption from the application of provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the orders made thereunder in respect of their stay in India without such documents or after the expiry of those documents, as the case may be [...].

}}The Rules had been further amended in 2016 by adding Afghanistan to the list of countries.[http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2016/170822.pdf The Gazette of India, Issue 495 of 2016] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804114905/http://www.egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2016/170822.pdf |date=4 August 2016 }}, 18 July 2016

Exemptions were granted to northeastern regions of India in the clause (4) of section 6B:

{{blockquote|(4) Nothing in this section shall apply to tribal area of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. }}

The Act has amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 to give accelerated eligibility for Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. The Act does not mention Muslims.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nrc-is-anti-indian-citizen/article30053825.ece |title=NRC is anti-Indian citizen |first1=Sobhana K. |last1=Nair |date=23 November 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/opposition-to-reach-out-to-people-about-pitfalls-of-citizenship-amendment-bill/article30197219.ece |title=Opposition to reach out to people about 'pitfalls' of Citizenship Amendment Bill |first1=Sobhana K. |last1=Nair |date=5 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu}} Under the original citizenship act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have lived in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The amendment relaxes this 11-year requirement to 5 years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries.

The immediate beneficiaries of the Amended Act will be 31,313 people of India, which include 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.{{cite news |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/citizenship-act-will-benefit-only-31313-not-lakhs-785797.html |title=Citizenship Act will benefit only 31,313, not lakhs |date=15 December 2019 |newspaper=Deccan Herald}} In Assam, about 3-6 lakh people are expected to be benefited under this act.{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/3-6l-nrc-rejects-to-apply-for-citizenship-via-caa-himanta-biswa-sarmas-statement/articleshow/108600167.cms|title=3-6L NRC-rejects to apply for citizenship via CAA: Himanta|newspaper=The Times of India |date=19 March 2024}} In West Bengal, the Matua community (Bengali Hindu Dalits i.e. SCs of East Bengal of Pakistan), numbering 3 crores (approx 30% population of West Bengal), is mostly concentrated in districts such as North 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly, Cooch Behar, South Dinajpur, East Burdwan, and other parts of West Bengal. The community, having immigrated during the Partition of India and Partition of Bengal in 1947 and later during the 1971 Bangladesh (East Bengal or East Pakistan) Liberation War (Civil War in Pakistan), out of which about 1.5 crore Matuas came to West Bengal after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 (after 24 March), have long been demanding the implementation of the Act due to facing citizenship issues for a considerable period.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-12 |title=Matuas in Bengal hail CAA implementation: Who are they? How will they gain from the law? |url=https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/matuas-west-bengal-caa-implementation-bjp-lok-sabha-elections-13747996.html |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Firstpost |language=en-us}} However, the Government of India says that it does not maintain records of CAA applicants as there is no such provision for record-keeping, thus making it difficult to ascertain the numbers of absolute beneficiaries of the Act.{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Vijaita |date=2024-04-16 |title=Centre says it does not maintain record of CAA applications |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/government-says-is-does-not-keep-record-of-caa-applications/article68072883.ece |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}

{{Discrimination sidebar}}

{{Islamophobia}}

The amendment exempts the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura from its applicability. It also exempts the areas regulated through the Inner Line Permit, which include Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur,{{cite news |url=http://prsindia.org/node/843781/chapters-at-a-glance |title=The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 – Bill Summary |website=PRS Legislative Research |access-date=10 December 2019 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210110416/http://prsindia.org/node/843781/chapters-at-a-glance |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/where-the-citizenship-amendment-bill-does-not-apply-parliament-6157094/ |title=Explained: Where the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill does not apply |last1=Saha |first1=Abhishek |date=9 December 2019 |newspaper=The Indian Express }}{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/what-is-citizenship-amendment-bill-2016-1372701-2018-10-22 |title=What is the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016? |newspaper=India Today |access-date=26 January 2019 }} the last of which was brought under Inner Line Permit on 9 December 2019.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bringing-ilp-for-manipur-3-ne-states-will-be-out-of-cab/articleshow/72449076.cms |title=Bringing ILP for Manipur, 3 NE states will be out of CAB |last1=Jain |first1=Bharti |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India }}

The amendment includes a new provision for cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) if there are any violations of any law of India, whether they are petty infractions or heinous felonies, however it also adds the opportunity for the OCI holder to be heard before the verdict.

Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are not offered accelerated eligibility for citizenship under the new Act.{{Cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/12/asia-pacific/social-issues-asia-pacific/indias-parliament-passes-contentious-citizenship-bill-excluding-muslims/ |title=India's Parliament passes contentious citizenship bill excluding Muslims |date=12 December 2019 |newspaper=Japan Times |issn=0447-5763 |access-date=13 December 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212022443/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/12/12/asia-pacific/social-issues-asia-pacific/indias-parliament-passes-contentious-citizenship-bill-excluding-muslims/ |url-status=dead }} Critics have questioned the exclusion on account of anti-Islamic sentiment. The amendment limits itself to the Muslim-majority neighbours of India and takes no cognisance of the Muslims of those countries.{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-to-be-a-citizen-of-india-earlier-now-6165960/ |title=Explained: What is Citizenship Amendment Act? |date=19 December 2019 |newspaper=The Indian Express}} Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are Muslim-majority countries that have modified their constitutions in recent decades to declare Islam their official state religion. Therefore, according to the Indian government, Muslims in these Islamic countries are "unlikely to face religious persecution". The government says that Muslims cannot be "treated as persecuted minorities" in these Muslim-majority countries. The BBC says that while these countries have provisions in their constitution guaranteeing non-Muslims rights, including the freedom to practice their religion, in practice non-Muslim populations have experienced discrimination and persecution.

The Economist criticised the exclusion by arguing that, the Indian government concern or religious persecution should have been extended to Ahmadiyyas – a Muslim sect who have been "viciously hounded in Pakistan as heretics", and the Hazaras – another Muslim sect who have been murdered by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They should be treated as minorities.{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/12/14/indias-bill-purporting-to-help-refugees-really-seeks-to-hurt-muslims |title=India's bill purporting to help refugees really seeks to hurt Muslims, India's bill purporting to help refugees really seeks to hurt Muslims |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224083658/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/12/14/indias-bill-purporting-to-help-refugees-really-seeks-to-hurt-muslims |archive-date=24 December 2019}}

The Act does not include migrants from non-Muslim countries fleeing persecution to India, including Hindu refugees from Sri Lanka and Buddhist refugees from Tibet.

The Act does not mention Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Tamils were allowed to settle as refugees in Tamil Nadu in 1980s and 1990s due to systemic violence from the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. They include 29,500 "hill country Tamils" (Malaiha).{{cite news |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/16112019-plea-to-render-justice-for-malaiha-hill-country-tamil-refugees-from-sri-lanka-oped/ |title=Plea To Render Justice For Malaiha (Hill Country) Tamil Refugees From Sri Lanka – OpEd |author2=SAAG |author1=V. Suryanarayan |date=16 November 2019 |newspaper=Eurasia Review}}

The Act does not provide relief to Tibetan Buddhist refugees, who came to India in the 1950s and 1960s due to the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Their status has been of refugees over the decades. According to a 1992 UNHCR report, the then Indian government stated that they remain refugees and do not have the right to acquire Indian nationality.{{Cite web |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aab124.html |title=Refworld {{!}} India: 1) Legal status of Tibetan refugees; 2) Rights of Tibetans to Indian nationality |website=Refworld}}

The Act does not address Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar. The Indian government has been deporting Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/12/11/india-citizenship-bill-discriminates-against-muslims |title=India: Citizenship Bill Discriminates Against Muslims |date=11 December 2019 |publisher=Human Rights Watch}}

The National Register of Citizens is a registry of all legal citizens, whose construction and maintenance was mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act. As of January 2020, it has only been implemented for the state of Assam, but the BJP has promised its implementation for the whole of India in its 2019 election manifesto.[https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-narendra-modi-amit-shah-pan-india-nrc-6180219/ Reality check: Before PM Modi’s distancing from pan-India NRC, there was Amit Shah’s underlining] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114162244/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-narendra-modi-amit-shah-pan-india-nrc-6180219/ |date=14 January 2020 }}, The Indian Express, 23 December 2019. The NRC documents all the legal citizens so that the people who are left out can be recognized as illegal immigrants (often called "foreigners"). The experience with Assam NRC shows that many people were declared "foreigners" because their documents were deemed insufficient.Rohini Mohan, [https://www.vice.com/en/article/worse-than-a-death-sentence-inside-indias-sham-trials-that-could-strip-millions-of-citizenship/ Inside India’s Sham Trials That Could Strip Millions of Citizenship], VICE News, 29 July 2019.

In this context, there are concerns that the present amendment of the Citizenship Act provides a "shield" to the non-Muslims, who can claim that they were migrants who fled persecution from Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Bangladesh, while the Muslims do not have such a benefit.Ravi Agrawal, Kathryn Salam, [https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/17/india-citizenship-law-protests-narendra-modi-amit-shah-founding-fathers/ India Is Betraying Its Founding Fathers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124171127/https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/17/india-citizenship-law-protests-narendra-modi-amit-shah-founding-fathers/ |date=24 January 2021 }}, Foreign Policy, 17 December 2019. "But with the new citizenship act, Hindus can potentially claim they are immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan and gain a route to citizenship. Muslims, on the other hand, could be at risk of being declared foreigners if they can't produce documentation."Apurva Vishwanath, M. Kaunain Sheriff, [https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/committee-to-review-conditions-in-assams-detention-centres/articleshow/71765297.cms Explained: What NRC+CAA means to you] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308101824/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/committee-to-review-conditions-in-assams-detention-centres/articleshow/71765297.cms |date=8 March 2021 }}, The Indian Express, 25 December 2019. "[Amit Shah] said in Parliament that no documents will be asked of those who apply for citizenship under the new law, giving a possible exit route to some of the Hindus potentially excluded from the NRC.... the CAA shield is not available to [the Muslims]. If a Muslim cannot meet the eligibility criteria for NRC... she will lose citizenship when the NRC is published without her name"Kaushik Deka, [https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-caa-and-nrc-1630771-2019-12-23 Everything you wanted to know about the CAA and NRC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223191021/https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-caa-and-nrc-1630771-2019-12-23 |date=23 December 2019 }}, India Today, 23 December 2019. "... since the CAA will provide citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from three countries, only Muslim immigrants will be left out when the NRC is rolled out. "Shylashri Shankar, [https://openthemagazine.com/features/politics-features/democratic-processes-damage-citizenship-rights/ How Democratic Processes Damage Citizenship Rights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216203106/https://openthemagazine.com/features/politics-features/democratic-processes-damage-citizenship-rights/ |date=16 February 2020 }}, OPEN Magazine, 16 December 2019. "For a non-Muslim who may have lived in India for centuries but who doesn't have a birth certificate, all is not lost. He or she can argue that they have no place to go or that they have fled these neighbouring countries to escape persecution (and have left their documents behind). But a document-less Muslim cannot make such an argument because the CAA does not include Muslim minorities." Such a claim may be possible only for people in the border states who have some ethnic resemblance to the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh, but not to the people of interior states.Shoaib Daniyal, [https://scroll.in/article/946053/four-myths-about-the-citizenship-bill-from-fighting-religious-persecution-to-helping-nrc-excluded Four myths about the Citizenship Bill – from fighting religious persecution to helping NRC-excluded] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209032528/https://scroll.in/article/946053/four-myths-about-the-citizenship-bill-from-fighting-religious-persecution-to-helping-nrc-excluded |date=9 December 2019 }}, Scroll.in, 8 December 2019. Muslim leaders have interpreted the CAA–NRC package in precisely these terms, viz., that the Muslims in the country would be targeted (by considering documents as insufficient) as potential foreigners, leaving out all non-Muslims.

In an interview to India Today, Home Minister Amit Shah offered reassurance that no Indian citizen needs to worry. "We will make special provisions to ensure that no Indian citizen from minority communities is victimised in the NRC process." But the Indian Express said that the purpose of the NRC is precisely to identify the Indian citizens. So these references to "Indian citizens" remain unexplained.

File:Muslim Youth League CAA, NRC Protest in Kerala 2019.jpg in Calicut Kerala 2020 by Muslim Youth League (The Youth Wing of Indian Union Muslim League)]]

File:Locals protest against CAB CAA.jpg

File:Anti CAA NRC protestors.jpg students protest against CAA/NRC in New Delhi on 15 December 2019]]

{{main |Citizenship Amendment Act protests}}

The passage of the Act triggered different types of protests and criticisms. Violent protests erupted in Assam, where the protesters maintained that the new provisions of this Act are against prior agreements such as the Assam Accord,{{cite news |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/citizenship-amendment-act-protest-women-protest-citizenship-act-across-assam-say-want-peace-not-migr-2152470 |title="Want Peace, Not Migrants": Thousands Of Women Protest Citizenship Act Across Assam |newspaper=NDTV.com |first1=Ratnadip |last1=Choudhury |date=21 December 2019}} and that they would cause a "loss of political rights and culture". The India-Japan summit in Guwahati, which was supposed to be attended by Shinzō Abe was cancelled.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/india-japan-guwahati-summit-cancelled/article30294202.ece |title=India-Japan Guwahati summit cancelled in view of protests |last1=Bhattacharjee |first1=Kallol |date=13 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X }}{{cite news |url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/584894/World/Asia/India-protests-spread-over-anti-Muslim-law |title=India protests spread over 'anti-Muslim' law |date=13 December 2019 |newspaper=Saudi Gazette }} The UK, USA, France, Israel and Canada issued travel warnings for people visiting India's north-east region, telling their citizens to "exercise caution".{{Cite web|url=https://in.usembassy.gov/travel-alert-for-u-s-citizens-protests-in-northeastern-states-121319/ |title=Travel Alert for U.S. Citizens: Protests in Northeastern States |date=13 December 2019 |website=U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India |access-date=14 December 2019}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/anti-citizenship-act-protests-us-uk-france-israel-issue-travel-advisories/article30304634.ece |title=Anti-Citizenship Act protests: U.S., U.K., France, Israel issue travel advisories |date=14 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}

In other parts of India, Islamic political and student activists along with a few others protested that the law "marginalizes Muslims, is prejudicial against Muslims" and sought that Muslim migrants and refugees should also be granted Indian citizenship per its secular foundations. The protesters demanded that the law should grant Indian citizenship to Muslim immigrants and refugees too.

Protests against the bill were held in several metropolitan cities across India, including Kolkata,{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50793529 |title=India protesters block roads over citizenship law |date=14 December 2019 |newspaper=BBC }} Delhi,{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/citizenship-amendment-bil-protests-assam-tripura-delhi-rajya-sabha-test-1627203-2019-12-11 |title=Shutdown in Northeast, furore across nation as Citizenship Amendment Bill set for Rajya Sabha test today |last1=Kumar Nath |first1=Hemanta Kumar |first2=Ashutosh |last2=Mishra |date=11 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/protests-against-cab-spill-on-to-city-streets/article30271483.ece |title=Protests against CAB spill on to Delhi streets |last1=Ravi |first1=Sidharth |date=11 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X }} Mumbai, Bengaluru,{{cite news |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/091219/bengaluru-citizens-protest-against-citizenship-amendment-bill.html |title=Bengaluru: Citizens protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill |date=9 December 2019 |newspaper=Deccan Chronicle }} Hyderabad,{{cite news |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/111219/cab-triggers-protests-in-hyderabad.html |title=CAB triggers protests in Hyderabad |last1=Moin |first1=Ather |date=11 December 2019 |newspaper=Deccan Chronicle }} and Jaipur. Rallies were also held in various Indian states of West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Bihar, Maharastra, Kerala and Karnataka. 27 people were killed by police firing guns in the whole of India.{{cite news |title=Internet banned in India's Uttar Pradesh amid anger over killings |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/internet-banned-india-uttar-pradesh-anger-killings-191227060434667.html |access-date=30 December 2019 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}{{cite news |title=These Are the 25 People Killed During Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act Protests |url=https://thewire.in/rights/anti-caa-protest-deaths |access-date=29 December 2019 |work=The Wire}} Along with in-person protests, the internet—especially on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter—was also the site of comment and debate regarding the constitutionality of the amendment. Large metropolitan areas (with Kolkata, Mumbai, and Bangalore standing out) became hotspots for online posts about the CAA.{{Cite arXiv |last1=Roy |first1=Souvik |last2=Mukherjee |first2=Milan |last3=Sinha |first3=Priyadarsini |last4=Das |first4=Sukanta |last5=Bandopadhyay |first5=Subhasis |last6=Mukherjee |first6=Abhik |date=2021-02-21 |title=Exploring the dynamics of protest against National Register of Citizens & Citizenship Amendment Act through online social media: the Indian experience |class=cs.CY |eprint=2102.10531 }} As with in-person protests, so also online opposition to the BJP and statements opposing Islamophobia came from people of all backgrounds and experiences. Overall, protesters framed the CAA as a continuation of a history of anti-Islamic legislation and propaganda by the BJP.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Various cities around the world, including New York, Washington D. C.,{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indian-americans-protest-against-caa-nrc-in-front-of-gandhi-statue-in-washington/article30377334.ece|title=Indian-Americans protest against CAA, NRC in front of Gandhi statue in Washington|date=23 December 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=24 December 2019|issn=0971-751X}} Melbourne,{{Cite web|title='A billion people on trial': Indian anti-CAA protestors get support from academicians in Melbourne|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/a-billion-people-on-trial-indian-anti-caa-protestors-get-support-from-academicians-in-melbourne|access-date=2020-09-03|website=SBS Your Language|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Indo-Australian academics gather in Melbourne to express solidarity with anti-CAA protestors in India|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/indo-australian-academics-gather-in-melbourne-to-express-solidarity-with-anti-caa-protestors-in-india|access-date=2020-09-03|website=National Herald|date=29 January 2020|language=en}} Paris, Berlin,{{cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/my-report/citizenship-amendment-act-protest-berlin-germany-photos|title=Anti-CAA Protests Go Global: Chants of 'Azaadi' Echo In Berlin|date=24 December 2019|website=The Quint|access-date=25 December 2019}} Geneva, Barcelona, San Francisco, Tokyo, Helsinki,{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/indians-finland-raise-slogans-read-preamble-anti-caa-protest-helsinki-114596|title=Indians in Finland raise slogans, read Preamble at anti-CAA protest in Helsinki|date=22 December 2019|work=The News Minute|access-date=5 January 2020}} and Amsterdam, witnessed protests against the Act and the police brutality faced by Indian protesters.{{cite news|url=https://scroll.in/latest/947405/citizenship-act-indian-diaspora-organises-protests-at-several-universities-in-us-uk-france|title=Citizenship Act: Indian diaspora organises protests at several universities in US, UK, France|date=20 December 2019|work=The Scroll|access-date=28 December 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://thewire.in/rights/caa-protests-worldwide|title=CAA Protests: Indian Students Worldwide Raise Voices in Solidarity|date=23 December 2019|work=The Wire|access-date=28 December 2019}} This showed up especially in the United States, Middle East, and Europe on social media; for example, 13% of Twitter flow on the CAA came from these international locations. The bulk of the in-person and social media protest, however, was in India.

File:Manushya maha Srinkala againts CAA kerala 2020 11.jpg was formed by approximately 6 to 7 million people and extended for a distance of 700 kilometres]]

{{multiple image

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| image1 = Shaheen Bagh - Pune Camp 01.jpg

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| image3 = Shaheen Bagh - Pune Camp 03.jpg

| footer = Shaheen Bagh protests against CAA, NRC and NPR in Pune on 22 Jan 2020

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Students from various universities like Jamia Millia Islamia, Vishwa Bharati University, Aligarh Muslim University, Nadwa College, Jawaharlal Nehru University, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, Jadavpur University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, IISc, Pondicherry University, and IIM Ahmedabad also held protest. More than 25 student associations from all over India joined protest. On 15 December, police forcefully entered the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia university, where protests were being held, and detained the students. Police used batons and tear gas on the students. More than a hundred students were injured and an equal number were detained. The police action was widely criticized, and resulted in protests across the country.{{cite news |title=India citizenship law protests spread across campuses |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-citizenship-protests/india-citizenship-law-protests-spread-across-campuses-idUSKBN1YK0DD |access-date=16 December 2019 |work=Reuters |date=16 December 2019 }}{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/delhi/demonstration-was-not-held-in-campus-locals-too-participated-in-it-jamia-millia-islamia-pro/videoshow/72652142.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215050105/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/delhi/demonstration-was-not-held-in-campus-locals-too-participated-in-it-jamia-millia-islamia-pro/videoshow/72652142.cms |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 December 2019 |title=Demonstration was not held in campus, locals too participated in it: Jamia Millia Islamia |newspaper=The Times of India}}{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/anti-caa-protest-not-held-in-campus-jamia-admin-1628430-2019-12-15 |title=Anti-CAA protest not held in campus, says Jamia admin |date=15 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today}}

Muslims all over India came out to protest the CAA–NRC package with a renewed assertion of their identity as Indians.Hilal Ahmed, [https://theprint.in/opinion/who-represents-indias-muslims-thanks-to-caa-protests-we-now-know-the-answer/350709/ Who represents India’s Muslims? Thanks to CAA protests, we now know the answer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117130631/https://theprint.in/opinion/who-represents-indias-muslims-thanks-to-caa-protests-we-now-know-the-answer/350709/ |date=17 January 2020 }}, The Print, 17 January 2020. Muslim women started protest at Shaheen Bagh on 15 December 2019 start as an ongoing 24/7 sit-in peaceful protest.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50902909|title=Shaheen Bagh: The women occupying Delhi street against citizenship law – 'I don't want to die proving I am Indian'|date=4 January 2020|work=BBC|access-date=13 January 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108140153/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50902909|archive-date=8 January 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/portraits-of-resilience-the-new-year-in-shaheen-bagh-11577952208794.html|title=Portraits of resilience: the new year in Shaheen Bagh|last1=Bakshi|first1=Asmita|date=2 January 2020|website=Livemint|access-date=13 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113064807/https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/portraits-of-resilience-the-new-year-in-shaheen-bagh-11577952208794.html|archive-date=13 January 2020|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/shaheen-bagh-residents-brave-the-cold-as-anti-caa-stir-enters-day-15/article30422794.ece|title=Shaheen Bagh residents brave the cold as anti-CAA stir enters Day 15|date=29 December 2019|work=The Hindu|access-date=13 January 2020|issn=0971-751X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113064806/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/shaheen-bagh-residents-brave-the-cold-as-anti-caa-stir-enters-day-15/article30422794.ece|archive-date=13 January 2020|url-status=live}} The protesters at Shaheen Bagh have blocked a major highway{{Efn|Road No 13-A, Shaheen Bagh (GD Birla Marg) – Mathura Road – Kalindi Kunj – Shaheen Bagh stretch is a border point that connects New Delhi to Noida and Faridabad.|name=|group=}} in New Delhi using non-violent resistance for more than 51 days now as of 5 February 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/rights/shaheen-bagh-anti-caa-protest|title=Organiser 'Calls Off' Shaheen Bagh Anti-CAA Protest, Locals Continue Dharna|date=2 January 2020|website=The Wire|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113061800/https://thewire.in/rights/shaheen-bagh-anti-caa-protest|archive-date=13 January 2020|access-date=13 January 2020|url-status=live}} On 24 February, violent clashes occurred during the North East Delhi riots in which seven people where killed and more than a hundred injured.{{cite news |title=7 Dead In Delhi Clashes; Government Rules Out Calling Army, Say Sources |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-violence-over-caa-northeast-delhi-tense-day-after-5-killed-in-caa-clashes-amid-donald-trump-vi-2185146 |access-date=25 February 2020 |work=NDTV.com}} The death toll rose to 42 within 36 hours, with 250 people getting injured.{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhi-riots-death-toll-rises-to-42-148-firs-registered/articleshow/74410677.cms|title=Death toll rises upto 42 in Delhi Riots|date=29 February 2020|newspaper=The Economic Times}}

On 16 December, after the protests entered the fifth day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm in a series of tweets saying "No Indian has anything to worry regarding this act. This act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India".{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50805092 |title=India PM plea for calm as citizenship unrest rages |date=16 December 2019 |newspaper=BBC}}{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1206492850378002432 |title=I want to unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act. This Act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India. |last1=Modi |first1=Narendra |date=16 December 2019 |website=@narendramodi |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216141018/https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1206492850378002432 |archive-date=16 December 2019}}{{Primary source inline|date=May 2020}} As CAA protests raised concerns on combined effects of CAA with NRC, both the PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah stating that there has been no talk on pan-Indian NRC in their government for now, and neither the cabinet nor the legal department has discussed it.{{cite news |title=PM Narendra Modi was right, no talk on pan-Indian NRC for now: Amit Shah |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/pm-narendra-modi-was-right-no-talk-on-pan-indian-nrc-for-now-amit-shah-119122500030_1.html |access-date=29 December 2019 |newspaper=Business Standard |date=25 December 2019 }}{{cite news |last1=Vishwanath |first1=Apurva |last2=Sheriff |first2=Kaunain |title=Explained: What NRC+CAA means to you |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=25 December 2019 |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-citizenship-amendment-act-nrc-caa-means-6180033/}}

Considering Violence and damage to public properties during demonstration, on 19 December, police banned protests in several parts of India with the imposition of section 144 which prohibits the gathering of more than 4 individuals in a public space as being unlawful, namely, parts of the capital Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka, including Bangalore. Police in Chennai denied permission for marches, rallies or any other demonstration.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50833361 |title=India police ban protests against citizenship law |date=19 December 2019 }}{{Cite web |url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/930621/ |title=Section 144 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973 |website=indiankanoon.org |access-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918214405/https://indiankanoon.org/doc/930621/ |archive-date=18 September 2019 }} Internet services were shut down in several parts of Delhi. As a result of defining the ban, thousands of protesters were detained, including several opposition leaders and activists such as Ramachandra Guha, Sitaram Yechury, Yogendra Yadav, Umar Khalid, Sandeep Dikshit, Tehseen Poonawalla and D Raja.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50833361 |title=Hundreds detained in India over citizenship protest |date=19 December 2019 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/anti-caa-protests-live-updates-8-delhi-metro-stations-closed-congress-ncp-gear-all-india-stirs/story/392305.html |title=Anti-CAA Protests Live Updates: 19 Delhi Metro stations shut; scores detained in multiple cities |newspaper=Business Today}}{{cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/citizenship-amendment-act-live-updates-delhi-nationwide-protests-section-144-in-karnataka-high-court-hearing-today-119121900152_1.html |title=CAA protest LIVE: 18 Delhi metro stations shut, protestors defy Section 144 |newspaper=Business Standard}}

{{see also|Citizenship Amendment Act protests#Pro-CAA demonstrations}}

Right-wing student groups such as those from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad – a student wing of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, held rallies in support of the amended Citizenship Act.[https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/abvp-bjp-members-take-out-pro-citizenship-act-march-in-pune-119121901451_1.html ABVP, BJP members take out pro-Citizenship Act march in Pune] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221094340/https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/abvp-bjp-members-take-out-pro-citizenship-act-march-in-pune-119121901451_1.html |date=21 December 2019 }}, Business Standard (19 December 2019)[http://www.uniindia.com/bhu-students-hold-rally-in-support-of-caa-and-nrc/north/news/1825380.html BHU Students hold rally in support of CAA and NRC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108222252/http://www.uniindia.com/bhu-students-hold-rally-in-support-of-caa-and-nrc/north/news/1825380.html |date=8 January 2020 }}, United News of India (17 December 2019) Rallies in support of the Amendment Act were led by BJP leaders in West Bengal, who alleged that the state government blocked them. They also accused the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party members of misinforming the state's residents about the new law.[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/bjp-takes-out-rallies-in-west-bengal-in-support-of-citizenship-law/articleshow/72841641.cms BJP takes out rallies in West Bengal in support of citizenship Law] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218222943/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/bjp-takes-out-rallies-in-west-bengal-in-support-of-citizenship-law/articleshow/72841641.cms |date=18 December 2019 }}, The Times of India (17 December 2019) Similarly, some 15,000 people joined a BJP-organised rally in support of the Act in Rajasthan.[https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/bjp-holds-rally-supporting-caa-in-jaipur/1690725 BJP holds rally supporting CAA in Jaipur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222144532/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/bjp-holds-rally-supporting-caa-in-jaipur/1690725 |date=22 December 2019 }}, Outlook India (20 December 2019) On 20 December 2019, scores of people held demonstrations in Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi in support of the Act.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/demonstration-in-support-of-caa/article30363194.ece |title=Demonstration in support of CAA |date=21 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/people-gather-at-delhis-central-park-raise-slogans-in-support-of-caa/articleshow/72904498.cms |title=Protest in Delhi Today: People gather at Delhi's Central Park, raise slogans in support of CAA |date=20 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India}} Hundreds of people gathered in Pune, forming a human chain, in support of CAA, on 22 December.{{cite news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/human-chain-to-be-formed-in-support-of-citizenship-amendment-act-at-balgandharv-chowk-in-pune/story-pdt6ExSXDoJm04ZfYFDLZJ.html |title=Human chain in support of CAA, NRC formed in Pune even as protests against Act grow |date=22 December 2019 |newspaper=Hindustan Times}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hundreds-of-people-form-pro-caa-human-chain-in-pune-119122100863_1.html |title=Citizenship Act: Hundreds of people form pro-CAA human chain in Pune |date=22 December 2019 |newspaper=Business Standard India}} ABVP members held a rally in support of CAA and NRC in Kerala.{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/abvp-members-hold-rally-in-support-of-caa-nrc-in-kerala-120011001148_1.html |title=ABVP members hold rally in support of CAA, NRC in Kerala |date=10 January 2020 |newspaper=Business Standard}} Hundreds of citizens were out on the streets in support of the citizenship law in Bangalore.{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/bengaluru-caa-supporters-protesters-have-town-hall/articleshow/72931240.cms |title=CAA supporters, protesters have town hall |date=22 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India}}

Jay Kholiya, ex-Member and Officer Bearer of ABVP Maharashtra had resigned from his office during these protests citing "Ideological Differences".{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/politics/abvp-bjp-resignation-caa|title = When Your Inner Voice Starts Hating the Outer You, or Why I Resigned from ABVP}} In Assam, ABVP's National Executive Moon Talukdar also had joined Anti-CAA Protests. He also announced that around 800 members would resign in opposition to the government's move to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).{{Cite web|url=https://www.insidene.com/assam-abvp-national-executive-joins-protest-against-citizenship-amendment-act/|title=Assam: ABVP National Executive Joins Protest Against Citizenship Amendment Act – INSIDENE|date=15 December 2019 }}

Hindu refugee families in Assam, living since the 1960s in a refugee camp and who had been denied Indian citizenship so far, said that the Amendment had "kindled hope" at first. They added that the recent protests against the Act and demands for its cancellation have made them fearful of the future.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/swing-between-hope-despair-in-assam/cid/1726282 |title=Swing between hope & despair |newspaper=The Telegraph|location=Kolkota |date=13 December 2019}} In New Delhi, about 600 refugees from Pakistan living in a camp consisting of tiny shanties celebrated the new law.{{cite news |url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/pakistani-hindu-migrants-celebrate-indian-citizenship-promise-while-muslims-protest-1.951268 |title=Pakistani Hindu migrants celebrate Indian citizenship promise while Muslims protest |newspaper=The National |first1=Taniya |last1=Dutta |date=14 December 2019}} A delegation of Sikh refugees who had arrived from Afghanistan three decades ago thanked the Indian government for amending the citizenship law. They stated the Amended law would allow them to finally gain Indian citizenship and "join the mainstream".{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/citizenship-law-will-be-implemented-so-will-be-nrc-nadda-after-meeting-refugees-from-afghanistan-1629771-2019-12-19 |title=Citizenship law will be implemented, so will be NRC: Nadda after meeting refugees from Afghanistan |newspaper=India Today |date=19 December 2019}}

Some Rohingya Muslim refugees in India were not optimistic about the Amendment and feared they would be deported.{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-india-insight-idUSKCN1NK0VH |title=As India eases citizenship path for Hindus, Rohingya Muslims fear expulsion |date=15 November 2018 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rohingya-wary-of-future-after-caa-dont-want-to-return-to-myanmar/article30372210.ece |title=Rohingya wary of future after CAA, don't want to return to Myanmar |date=22 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}} Other Rohingya refugees expressed gratitude at having been allowed to stay in India, but did not make any comments specific to the Act lest they provoke a backlash. They said that local police had asked them not to protest against the Act.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/rohingya-muslims-citizenship-amendment-act-protests_in_5df8be32e4b047e888a411d7 |title=Police Warn Rohingya Muslims To Stay Silent As CAA Protests Roil India |date=18 December 2019 |newspaper=HuffPost India}}

More than 200 families have arrived in the Indian state of Punjab with all their belongings after the law was enacted.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/hindus-from-pakistan-visiting-punjab-worry-agencies/articleshow/73783657.cms |title=Hindus from Pak 'visiting' Punjab worry agencies |newspaper=The Times of India |first1=Yudhvir |last1=Rana |date=31 January 2020}}

The bill was opposed by the Indian National Congress, who said it would create communal tensions and polarise India.{{cite news |title=What you should know about India's 'anti-Muslim' citizenship bill |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=9 December 2019 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/india-anti-muslim-citizenship-bill-191209095557419.html }} The Chief Ministers of the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala and Rajasthan and union territory of Puducherry – all led by non-BJP governments – said they will not implement the law.{{cite news |url=https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/president-gives-assent-to-cab-5-states-refuse-to-implement-it-11576262342021.html |title=President gives assent to CAB, 5 states refuse to implement it |last1=Varma |first1=Anuja and Gyan |date=14 December 2019 |newspaper=livemint.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/cong-govts-in-punjab-mp-rajasthan-chhattisgarh-puducherry-won-t-implement-caa-harish-rawat-1630219-2019-12-20 |title=Cong govts in Punjab, MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry won't implement CAA: Harish Rawat |first1=Hemanta Kumar |last1=Nath |date=20 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today}} According to the Union Home Ministry, states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of CAA. The Ministry stated that "the new legislation has been enacted under the Union List of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. The states have no power to reject it".{{cite news |title=Sporadic protests in MP against CAA |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/sporadic-protests-in-mp-against-caa/1689856 |newspaper=Outlook |date=19 December 2019 }} Modi stated on 21 December that the NRC had only been implemented in Assam to follow a directive from the Supreme Court of India, and that there had been no decision taken to implement it nation-wide.{{cite news |title=PM Modi counters what Amit Shah, BJP manifesto say on bringing all-India NRC |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pm-modi-counters-what-amit-shah-bjp-manifesto-say-on-bringing-all-india-nrc-1630576-2019-12-22 |access-date=23 December 2019 |work=India Today |date=22 December 2019 }}

Kerala becomes the first state to challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by filing a plea in the Supreme Court of India under Article 131 of the Constitution.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-14 |title=Kerala moves SC against citizenship act, first to confront Centre on CAA |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kerala-govt-challenges-citizenship-act-in-supreme-court-first-state-to-challenge-centre/story-qQE0eJirdQutcRPxQ9zrGK.html |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}} Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan affirmed that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is viewed as divisive and declared its non-implementation in the state, asserting that it treats Muslim minorities unfairly. He stated, "All of Kerala will stand united in opposing this communally divisive law."{{Cite web |last=Bharat |first=E. T. V. |date=2024-03-11 |title=CAA will not be implemented in Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan |url=https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/caa-will-not-be-implemented-in-kerala-pinarayi-vijayan-enn24031106486 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=ETV Bharat News |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Citizenship Law CAA Won't Be Implemented In Kerala, Says Pinarayi Vijayan |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/citizenship-law-caa-wont-be-implemented-in-kerala-says-pinarayi-vijayan-5219052 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=NDTV.com}}

The Indian Union Muslim League petitioned the Supreme Court of India to declare the bill illegal.{{Cite web|url=https://onelawstreet.com/caa-challenge-sc-lists-matter-on-18-december/|title=CAA Challenge: SC lists matter on 18 December|date=15 March 2020|website=One Law Street|access-date=19 April 2020}}{{cite news |title='Anti-Muslim' citizenship law challenged in India court |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50739593 |access-date=17 December 2019 |newspaper=BBC |date=12 December 2019 }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50739593 |title='Anti-Muslim' citizenship law challenged in India court |date=12 December 2019 |newspaper=BBC }} The first hearing by the Supreme Court of India on 60 petitions challenging the Act was on 18 December 2019. During the first hearing, the court declined to stay implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. On 22 January 2020, around 143 petitions, including several petitions filed after 18 December 2019 were heard. The court again declined the request for stay.{{cite news |last1=Bagriya |first1=Ashok |title=Supreme Court refuses stay on Citizenship Amendment Act, issues notice to Centre |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/supreme-court-refuses-stay-on-citizenship-amendment-act-issues-notice-to-centre/story-hXDK5Qx27bmX9AtLORBVYP.html |access-date=18 December 2019 |work=Hindustan Times |date=18 December 2019 }}{{Cite web|url=https://onelawstreet.com/caa-sc-awaits-centers-response-plea-for-constitution-bench-reference/|title=CAA: SC awaits Center's response; Plea for Constitution Bench reference|date=17 January 2020|website=One Law Street|access-date=19 April 2020}} The next hearing was scheduled on 21 April 2020.

The foreign intelligence agency of India, R&AW, had expressed concern while deposing in front of the joint parliamentary committee, and had stated that the bill could be used by agents of the foreign intelligence agencies to infiltrate legally into India.{{cite news |title=CAB Could Be Misused By Foreign Agents to Infiltrate India, RAW Had Said |url=https://thewire.in/security/cab-could-be-misused-by-foreign-agents-to-infiltrate-india-raw-had-said |access-date=16 December 2019 |newspaper=The Wire |date=9 December 2019 }} Former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon called the incident a self inflicted goal that has isolated India from the International community.{{cite news |title=India will face international isolation because of NRC-CAA: Shiv Shankar Menon |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-will-face-international-isolation-because-of-nrc-caa-shiv-shankar-menon/article30469116.ece |access-date=3 January 2020 |newspaper=The Hindu |date=3 January 2020 }}

Harish Salve, former Solicitor General of India, said that the bill does not violate Article 14, Article 25 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.{{cite news |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/harish-salve-says-cab-is-pro-minorities-does-not-violate-article-1415-or-21 |title=Harish Salve says CAB is pro-minorities, does not violate Article 14,15 or 21 |date=11 December 2019 |newspaper=The Free Press Journal }}

A group of prominent individuals and organisations from around 12 countries representing minorities of Bangladesh released a joint statement in which they described the Act as "humanitarian" provision through which India has "partially fulfilled" its obligations towards the minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/caa-is-a-humanitarian-act-expat-bangladesh-minorities/article30408756.ece |title=CAA is a humanitarian act: expat Bangladesh minorities |date=27 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}} The National Sikh Front – a group representing the Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir, stated that it supports the Act because it will help the Sikh refugees in India who left Afghanistan.{{cite news |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/national-sikh-front-backs-citizenship-act/1690477 |title=National Sikh Front backs Citizenship Act |newspaper=Outlook India}}.

A petition opposing the bill was signed by more 1,000 Indian scientists and scholars.{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/over-1-000-scientists-scholars-sign-petition-demanding-withdrawal-citizenship-bill-1627101-2019-12-10 |title=India will become unconstitutional ethnocracy: Over 1,000 scholars, scientists seek withdrawal of Citizenship Bill |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today}} The petition stated that "The use of religion as a criterion for citizenship in the proposed bill" was "inconsistent with the basic structure of the Constitution". A similar number of Indian academicians and intellectuals released a statement in support of the legislation.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1000-academics-come-out-in-support-of-caa/articleshow/72921086.cms |title=1,000 academics come out in support of CAA |date=22 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India}} The petition stated that the act "fulfills the long-standing demand of providing refuge to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan".{{cite news |title=Academics, intellects issue joint statement supporting CAA |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/academics-intellects-issue-joint-statement-supporting-caa/1691134 |newspaper=Outlook India |date=21 December 2019 }}

Historian Neeti Nair commented that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens represent steps towards a "Hindu Rashtra" that should be "summarily dismissed both by the people and by the courts".{{cite web |last1=Mudur |first1=G.S. |title='CAA-NRC a road to Hindu Rashtra' Author Neeti Nair is currently exploring the challenges to secularism in India |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/caa-nrc-a-road-to-hindu-rashtra/cid/1728003 |website=The Telegraph |access-date=2 November 2020}} Similar views were also expressed by social activists such as Harsh Mander,{{cite news |last1=Sanjiv |first1=Deepthi |title=CAA an attempt to convert India into Hindu Rashtra: Activist in Mangaluru rally |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/caa-an-attempt-to-convert-india-into-hindu-rashtra-activist-in-mangaluru-rally/articleshow/73279755.cms |newspaper=The Times of India |date=15 January 2020 |access-date=2 November 2020}} Indira Jaising.{{cite web |title=CAA first step towards Hindu rashtra, says Indira Jaising at AIPC's secular march |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2019/12/29/caa-first-step-to-hindu-rashtra-indira-jaising-aipc-secular-march.html |website=Onmanorama |access-date=5 November 2020}} and media houses National Herald and The Caravan.{{cite web |last1=Agrawal |first1=Purushottam |title=How close is the Republic to the nightmare of a Hindu Rashtra ? |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/how-close-is-the-republic-to-the-nightmare-of-a-hindu-rashtra |website=National Herald |date=26 January 2020 |access-date=5 November 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Verma |first1=Maansi |title=India has long granted citizenship to refugees; CAA is just a step towards a Hindu Rashtra |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/india-has-long-granted-citizenship-persecuted-refugees-caa-step-towards-hindu-rashtra |website=The Caravan |access-date=5 November 2020}} The Japan Times termed the Act as "Modi's project to make a Hindu India".{{cite web |last1=Thakur |first1=Ramesh |title=Modi's project to make a Hindu India |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/01/13/commentary/world-commentary/modis-project-make-hindu-india/ |website=The Japan Times |date=13 January 2020 |access-date=5 November 2020}}

• {{flagu|Afghanistan|2013}}: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai urged Government of India to treat all minorities equally. In an interview to The Hindu, he said, "We don't have persecuted minorities in Afghanistan." Mentioning the Afghanistan conflict, he said, "The whole country is persecuted. We have been in war and conflict for a long time. All religions in Afghanistan, Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs, which are our three main religions, have suffered."{{cite news |last1=Haider |first1=Suhasini |title=Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai urges India to treat all minorities including Muslims equally |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/all-afghans-have-been-persecuted-karzai/article30600574.ece |access-date=20 January 2020 |newspaper=The Hindu |date=19 January 2020}}
• {{flagu|Australia}}: Australian Greens MP David Shoebridge tabled motion in the New South Wales Legislative Council, calling for serious attention to India's CAA, the Modi government's reaction to the democratic protests and to renegotiate trade agreements between Australia and India so that they include a human rights clause.{{Cite web|title=Australia: Greens MP Tables Motion Against CAA, Calls for Review of Trade Links With India|url=https://thewire.in/world/australia-citizenship-amendment-act-david-shoebridge|access-date=2020-09-03|website=The Wire}}
• {{flagu|Bahrain}}: The Shura Council (the Council of Representatives) called on the Government of India to refrain from implementing the Act, taking the rights of the Muslims into account, and respecting the international principles.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gulf-insider.com/bahrain-urges-india-to-refrain-from-caa-implementation/|title=Bahrain Urges India to Refrain from CAA Implementation|date=3 January 2020|website=Gulf Insider|access-date=23 February 2020|archive-date=23 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223141154/https://www.gulf-insider.com/bahrain-urges-india-to-refrain-from-caa-implementation/|url-status=dead}}
• {{flagu|Bangladesh}}: Bangladesh's Minister of Foreign Affairs, A. K. Abdul Momen said that this bill could weaken India's historic character as a secular nation and denied that minorities were facing religious persecution in his country.{{cite news |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/news/citizenship-law-could-weaken-indias-secular-character-says-bangladeshs-foreign-minister-ak-abdul-momen |title=Citizenship Amendment Bill could weaken India's secular character, says Bangladesh's Foreign Minister |date=12 December 2019 |newspaper=National Herald }} In an interview to Gulf News, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, "Within India, people are facing many problems" and expressed her concerns saying, "We don't understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary". However, she maintained her stance that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India. She also said that Prime Minister Modi assured her of no reverse migration from India.{{cite news |last1=Bhattacharjee |first1=Kallol |title=India's new citizenship law unnecessary, says Sheikh Hasina |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indias-new-citizenship-law-unnecessary-says-sheikh-hasina/article30599102.ece?homepage=true |access-date=19 January 2020 |newspaper=The Hindu |date=19 January 2020}}
• {{flagu|France}}: Ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain, said that France considers the legislation an internal matter of India and respects it.{{cite news |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/cab-indias-key-ally-france-calls-caa-countrys-internal-matter/1795662/ |title=CAB: India's key ally France calls CAA country's internal matter |date=16 December 2019 |newspaper=The Financial Express}}
• {{flagu|Kuwait}}: Around 27 lawmakers in Kuwait expressed "deep concern" over "the abusive legislative and repressive security measures taken by the Indian government against Muslims". They asked the Kuwait Government to 'exert diplomatic efforts' and to approach the UN to address the situation.{{Cite web|url=https://gulfbusiness.com/kuwaiti-mps-express-deep-concern-situation-muslims-india-china/|title=Kuwaiti MPs express 'deep concern' over situation of Muslims in India, China|date=26 December 2019|website=Gulf Business|access-date=23 February 2020}}
• {{flagu|Malaysia}}: The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, criticised the law and said it could "deprive some Muslims of their citizenship". India rejected the criticism and said the law does not "deprive any Indian of any faith of her or his citizenship".[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/dying-malaysia-mahathir-slams-india-citizenship-law-191220082825226.html "'People dying': Malaysia's Mahathir slams India's citizenship law"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102180341/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/dying-malaysia-mahathir-slams-india-citizenship-law-191220082825226.html |date=2 January 2020 }}, Al Jazeera
• {{flagu|Maldives}}: Maldives' Parliament Speaker and former president, Mohamed Nasheed, said that CAA is an internal issue of India and was democratically passed through both the houses of the Parliament.{{Cite news |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/caa-is-internal-issue-of-india-maldives-speaker-mohamed-nasheed-119121400099_1.html |title=CAA is internal issue of India: Maldives Speaker Mohamed Nasheed |last=ANI |date=14 December 2019 |newspaper=Business Standard India}}
• {{flagu|Pakistan}}: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan criticised the Act.{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/imran-khan-tweet-on-citizenship-amendment-bill-1626982-2019-12-10 |title=Imran Khan blasts Citizenship Amendment Bill, says it violates bilateral agreements |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today }} Pakistan's National Assembly passed a resolution labelling the Act as a "discriminatory law" and argued that it contravened "bilateral agreements and understandings between India and Pakistan, particularly those on security and rights of minorities in the respective countries".[https://www.dawn.com/news/1522643/na-condemns-india-over-controversial-citizenship-act "NA condemns India over controversial citizenship act"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104155307/https://www.dawn.com/news/1522643/na-condemns-india-over-controversial-citizenship-act |date=4 January 2020 }}, Dawn, 17 December 2019. This act was denounced by both the Hindu and Sikh communities of Pakistan. In particular, it was rejected by the Pakistan Hindu Council, a representative body of Hindus in the country. Many lawmakers were vocal in voicing their protest over this legislation. These included Lal Chand Malhi, member of the national assembly from Pakistan's ruling party Tehreek-e-Insaf, and Sachanand Lakhwani, member of the provincial assembly of Sindh.{{cite web |title=Pakistani Hindus say citizenship law is divisive |url=https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2019/12/18/pakistani-hindus-say-citizenship-law-is-divisive.html |work=The Week |access-date=21 March 2020}}
• {{flagu|Russia}}: Deputy Russian Ambassador to India, Roman Babushkin, said that Russia considers the legislation an internal matter of India.{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/indias-citizenship-amendment-act-is-a-domestic-matter-russia/articleshow/72941533.cms |title=India's Citizenship Amendment Act is a domestic matter: Russia |last1=Chaudhury |first1=Dipanjan Roy |date=23 December 2019 |newspaper=The Economic Times}}
• {{flagu|Sri Lanka}}: Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa termed the CAA as an internal matter of India. While answering a question about the non-inclusion of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, he said, "Sri Lankans can return anytime they want. Their houses are there. They can come back anytime they want. We have no objection. Recently, around 4,000 of them returned. It all depends on what they want."{{cite news |last1=Mohan |first1=Geeta |title=Sri Lankan PM Rajapaksa reaches Delhi, says CAA internal matter of India |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sri-lankan-pm-rajapaksa-reaches-delhi-says-caa-internal-matter-of-india-1644633-2020-02-09 |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=India Today |date=9 February 2020 }}
• {{flagu|United Kingdom}}: The outgoing British High Commissioner to India, Dominic Asquith, said that the UK expressed hope that the Indian government will address concerns of the people as its manifesto commitment is "sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishvas" (with all, development for all, and trust of all){{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/hope-indian-govt-will-address-concerns-on-caa-uk/articleshow/73775985.cms|title=Hope Indian govt will address concerns on CAA: UK {{!}} India News|date=30 January 2020|website=The Times of India|access-date=27 February 2020}}
• {{flagu|United States}}: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called for sanctions{{Cite web |url=https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases-statements/uscirf-raises-serious-concerns-and-eyes-sanctions |title=USCIRF Raises Serious Concerns and Eyes Sanctions Recommendations for Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in India, Which Passed Lower House Today |date=9 December 2019 |website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |access-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210093153/https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases-statements/uscirf-raises-serious-concerns-and-eyes-sanctions |archive-date=10 December 2019}} against Amit Shah and "other principal leadership" over passage of the Bill.{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/federal-us-commission-seeks-sanctions-against-amit-shah-if-cab-passed-in-parliament-1626880-2019-12-10 |title=Federal US commission seeks sanctions against Amit Shah if CAB passed in Parliament |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=India Today}}{{efn |The USCIRF had earlier expressed its support for the Lautenberg-Specter Amendments, a US law that is considered similar to the CAA.{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/caa-has-corollary-in-us-lautenberg-amendment/articleshow/73347361.cms |title=CAA has corollary in US' Lautenberg Amendment |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=18 January 2020}}}} India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement in response, stating that the statement made by the USCIRF was "neither accurate nor warranted", and that neither the CAA nor the NRC sought to strip Indian citizens of citizenship.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uscirf-statement-on-cab-neither-accurate-nor-warranted-mea/articleshow/72454704.cms |title=USCIRF statement on CAB 'neither accurate nor warranted': MEA |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=The Times of India }}{{Cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/it-has-no-locus-standi-mea-on-uscirfs-citizenship-bill-statement/articleshow/72454886.cms |title=It has no locus standi: MEA on USCIRF's citizenship bill statement |date=10 December 2019 |newspaper=The Economic Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-religious-freedom-panel-uscirf-statement-on-citizenship-amendment-bill-not-accurate-guided-only-b-2146381 |title=US Commission Statement On Citizenship Bill Not "Accurate": Government |newspaper=NDTV.com}} The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs questioned the intent of the Bill and noted that "[a]ny religious test for citizenship undermines this most basic democratic tenet."{{cite news |last1=Raj |first1=Yashwant |last2=H. Laskar |first2=Rezaul |title=US panel for sanctions over Citizenship Amendment Bill, India says it is biased |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/us-panel-for-sanctions-over-citizenship-amendment-bill-india-says-it-is-biased/story-svybceSyKuzLWOTKjjaT1H.html |newspaper=Hindustan Times |access-date=17 December 2019 |date=11 December 2019 |archive-date=17 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217054952/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/us-panel-for-sanctions-over-citizenship-amendment-bill-india-says-it-is-biased/story-svybceSyKuzLWOTKjjaT1H.html |url-status=dead }} On 19 December, however, the United States Secretary of State said that the US respects Indian democracy since it has a "robust" internal debate on the Citizenship Act.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-has-robust-domestic-debate-says-pompeo-on-citizenship-law/article30343634.ece |title=India has robust domestic debate, says Pompeo on citizenship law |date=19 December 2019 |newspaper=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}} The President of the United States, Donald Trump, during his visit to India, declined to comment on the CAA and said that "it is up to India."{{cite news |title=Don't want to say anything on CAA, it is up to India: Donald Trump |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/pm-modi-wants-people-to-have-religious-freedom-donald-trump/articleshow/74303397.cms |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=The Economic Times |date=25 February 2020}}

:Two city councils, in Seattle and Cambridge, passed resolutions asking India to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act.{{cite web |last1=Ali |first1=Mohammad |title=Another US city passes resolution against India's citizenship law |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/12/another-us-city-passes-resolution-against-indias-citizenship-law |website=Aljazeera |publisher= |access-date=5 May 2021}}

• {{flagu|European Union}}: Ambassador of the European Union to India, Ugo Astuto, said that he trusts that the outcome of the CAA discussion would be in line with the high standards set by the Indian constitution.{{cite news |url=https://thewire.in/external-affairs/eu-to-india-hope-cab-is-in-line-with-high-standards-of-indian-constitution |title=EU to India: Hope CAB Is in Line with High Standards of Indian Constitution |newspaper=The Wire |access-date=9 January 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127140726/https://thewire.in/external-affairs/eu-to-india-hope-cab-is-in-line-with-high-standards-of-indian-constitution |url-status=dead }}
• {{flagu|Organisation of Islamic Cooperation}}: OIC expressed their concern about present situation of CAA-NRC and urged the Government of India to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority and to follow the obligations outlined in the Charter of the United Nations.{{cite news |title=OIC expresses concern over CAA; says 'closely' following developments |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/oic-expresses-concern-over-caa-says-closely-following-developments/articleshow/72931689.cms |access-date=31 December 2019 |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=23 December 2019}}
• {{flagu|United Nations}}: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights criticised the Act and called it "fundamentally discriminatory in nature". It added, "Although India's broader naturalization laws remain in place, these amendments will have a discriminatory effect on people's access to nationality."{{cite web |title=New citizenship law in India 'fundamentally discriminatory': UN human rights office |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053511 |website=UN News |publisher=United Nations |access-date=17 December 2019 |date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217063225/https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053511 |archive-date=17 December 2019 }}
• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights filed an intervention in the Supreme Court of India on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2020.{{cite web |title=UN High Commissioner for Human Rights files intervention application in Supreme Court against CAA |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/un-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-files-intervention-application-in-supreme-court-against-caa/article30970470.ece |work=The Hindu |date=3 March 2020 |access-date=21 March 2020}}

Government of India released the details and rules about the implementation of the act in Gazette of India on 11 March 2024. An online portal was also opened to let the eligible refugees apply for the citizenship.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-12 |title=Centre launches new portal for people applying for citizenship under CAA |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ministry-of-home-affairs-launches-portal-for-those-seeking-indian-citizenship-under-caa-9209526/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} Politically it was significant because it was released just before the 2024 Indian general election, and was esteemed to be an electoral gain for the BJP in the upcoming election.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-12 |title=CAA Rules: Why the Centre took over 4 years to frame rules for citizenship law after notification? |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/elections/lok-sabha-election/caa-rules-why-the-centre-took-over-4-years-to-frame-rules-for-citizenship-law-after-notificationcitizenship-amendment-act-2019-article-12444681.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Moneycontrol |language=en}} Opposition parties criticised the timing of the notification, accusing BJP for delaying four years to implement it just to use it as a political issue in the election.{{Cite web |title=India: Opposition slams decision after Centre notifies CAA rules ahead of polls |url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-oppositions-first-reaction-after-centre-notifies-caa-rules-699053 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=WION |date=11 March 2024 |language=en-us}} On May 15, 2024, the granting of Indian citizenship under CAA began with the first set of migrant applicants receiving their citizenship certificates.

The rules for applying for Indian citizenship under the act are as follows :-

1. Individuals who entered India legally from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014, and belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian community are eligible.{{Cite web |title=Indian Citizenship Online |url=https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in}}

2. They must have resided legally and worked in India continuously for six years, from 2008 to December 31, 2014, and possess all necessary documents, such as valid or expired passports, ID cards, and land tenancy records, to prove their membership in one of the six specified religious groups from the aforementioned three neighbouring nations, in order to meet the eligibility criteria for Indian citizenship through naturalization.{{Cite news |date=2019-12-09 |title=CAA: India's new citizenship law explained |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50670393 |access-date=2024-04-22 |language=en-GB}}

3. The applicant is required to possess sufficient proficiency in one of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India respectively.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-11 |title=Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules explained: Check eligibility, procedure, language clause details |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/caa-rules-notified-eligibility-procedure-language-requirement-for-citizenship-explained-101710169656229.html |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}

4. Although the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed on December 11, 2019, the act does not grant Indian citizenship to refugees with criminal records, or to those who immigrated into the Indian Union after December 31, 2014, whether legally or illegally, as this date serves as the cut-off.{{Cite news |last=Tripathi |first=Rahul |date=2024-01-03 |title=Citizenship cut-off date likely to be extended beyond Dec 31, 2014 |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/citizenship-cut-off-date-likely-to-be-extended-beyond-dec-31-2014/articleshow/106494250.cms |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}

Critics have argued that the Act's stance on persecution lacks consistency, questioning why it chooses 2014 as a cut-off date when, according to the government's own admission, persecution of minorities continues to be a persistent issue in the neighbouring nations of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-13 |title=Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes: With CAA Rules, excluding minorities by stealth |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/pratap-bhanu-mehta-writes-with-caa-rules-exclusion-by-stealth-not-big-bang-9212398/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}} Refugees across India have advocated for the extension of the act, arguing that it should not have any cut-off date for providing citizenship to persecuted minorities of neighbouring nations, as persecution hasn't stopped and will not in the near future.{{Cite web |title='Why The Cut-Off In Eligibility Dates If CAA Law Is Meant For Persecuted Refugees?' Sindhis Ask |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/why-the-cut-off-in-eligibility-dates-if-caa-law-is-meant-for-persecuted-refugees-sindhis-ask |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2024-01-04 |title=Pak immigrants want CAA date extended till Dec 2023 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/pak-immigrants-want-caa-date-extended-till-dec-2023/articleshow/106529268.cms |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} A top official of the Indian Government has said that the cut-off date of December 31, 2014, is being kept so that the act cannot be misused by infiltrators from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.{{Cite news |title=CAA cutoff date will prevent misuse: Official |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/caa-cutoff-date-will-prevent-misuse-official/articleshow/73114719.cms |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=The Economic Times|date=6 January 2020 |last1=Tripathi |first1=Rahul }} The same official also added that if the need arises, the 2014 cut-off can be extended by bringing in necessary legal changes through amendments.{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Vijaita |date=2024-01-02 |title=CAA rules likely to be notified before 2024 Lok Sabha poll: Home Ministry official |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/citizenship-amendment-act-likely-to-be-notified-before-2024-lok-sabha-polls-home-ministry-official/article67698970.ece |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) implementation in Northeast India has encountered significant opposition, particularly in Assam and other states of the region. The CAA has been a contentious issue, with concerns raised about its alleged discriminatory nature and potential infringement upon indigenous rights.{{Cite web |title=Why BJP and allies have the edge in perception war in northeast By implementing the CAA, Modi govt has given the opposition an opening |url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/current/2024/04/06/lok-sabha-elections-2024-north-east-states-analysis-predictions.html |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=The Week}}

The central government's decision not to implement the CAA in most tribal areas of Northeastern states has been met with mixed reactions.{{Cite web |title=CAA not to be implemented in most tribal areas in Northeastern states |url=https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/caa-not-to-be-implemented-in-most-tribal-areas-in-northeastern-states-124031200011_1.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Business Standard}} While some view it as a positive step towards protecting indigenous communities, others argue that many parts of northeast like whole of Assam is still not covered under the 6th schedule and thereby not excluded under CAA {{Cite web |title=Anti-CAA stir protests continue in NE region |url=https://arunachaltimes.in/index.php/2024/03/14/anti-caa-stir-protests-continue-in-ne-region/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=Arunachal Times|date=14 March 2024 }}{{Cite web |title=Tripura: Tribal student body 'black day' tomorrow, protest CAA |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/tripura/tripura-tribal-student-body-black-day-tomorrow-protest-caa-9098899/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Indian Express|date=7 January 2024 }}

Among the Northeastern states, Assam is most affected by issues related to illegal immigration, primarily due to its porous borders with Bangladesh.{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/assams-problem-real-but-just-cant-junk-provision-in-citizenship-act-supreme-court/articleshow/105764082.cms|title=Assam's problem real but just can't junk provision in Citizenship Act: Supreme Court|newspaper=The Times of India |date=6 December 2023}}

Existing student bodies in the Northeast, such as the Northeast Student Union (NESU), have faced criticism for their perceived silence on the CAA issue. Despite the recent abolishment of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar, NESU has remained relatively inactive in addressing the concerns of the region's inhabitants.{{Cite news |title=CAA copies burnt, 'hartal' in Assam as Centre notifies rules |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/caa-copies-burnt-hartal-in-assam-as-centre-notifies-rules/articleshow/108404751.cms |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Times of India|date=11 March 2024 }}

In response to the perceived lack of action by existing student unions, a new initiative called the Wesean Student Federation (WSF) was formed in March 2024.{{Cite web |title=Anti-CAA stir: Protests continue in NE region |url=https://theprint.in/india/anti-caa-stir-protests-continue-in-ne-region/1999676/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=ThePrint|date=13 March 2024 }} The WSF and other organisations like the Naga Student Federation has also sought international intervention on the issue, urging the United Nations to address the discriminatory nature of the CAA and its potential threat to the sovereignty and rights of indigenous peoples in the region.{{Cite web |title=WSF seeks UN's intervention over 'unjust' CAA legislation |url=https://morungexpress.com/wsf-seeks-uns-intervention-over-unjust-caa-legislation |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Morung Express}}{{Cite web |title=Why is India's Citizenship Amendment Act so controversial? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/12/why-is-indias-citizenship-amendment-act-so-controversial |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Al Jazeera}}

In light of the opposition to the CAA in Northeast India, there have been calls for the Indian government to exclude the entire region from the purview of the legislation.{{Cite web |title=NESO and NSF stages protest against CAA |url=https://nagalandtribune.in/neso-and-nsf-stages-protest-against-caa/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=Nagaland Tribune|date=12 March 2024 }}{{Cite web |title=Assam student body protests against CAA implementation, seeks ILP for state |url=https://nagalandpost.com/index.php/2024/01/30/assam-student-body-protests-against-caa-implementation-seeks-ilp-for-state/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Nagaland Post}}

Moreover, Assam's Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Dima Hasao, West Karbi Anglong and East Karbi Anglong Districts, which comprise about 35% of the total state area, fall under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The remaining area does not come under the Sixth Schedule and is not exempted from the Citizenship Amendment Act.{{Cite web |title=Secretary (ER), Shri Dammu Ravi met H.E. Mr. Patrick Ole Ntutu, Governor of Narok County of Kenya in Nairobi |url=https://www.mea.gov.in/ |access-date=2024-04-22}} On March 11, 2024, All Assam Students Union Chief Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya, while agitating against the CAA, raised a question to the Assam Government: 'How is it beneficial for Nagaon and Kamrup if it is wrong for Kokrajhar and Karbi Anglong in Assam?'{{Cite web |title=AASU to intensify stir against CAA after Centre's notification |url=https://morungexpress.com/aasu-to-intensify-stir-against-caa-after-centres-notification |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=MorungExpress}} On April 6, 2015, the Government of India planned to grant Scheduled Tribe status to six indigenous Assamese communities: Ahoms, Koch-Rajbongshis, Tea tribes, Morans, Motaks, and Chutiyas. These six communities account for roughly 60% of the state's population.{{Cite news |date=2015-04-06 |title=ST status for 6 Assam tribes soon |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/st-status-for-6-assam-tribes-soon/articleshow/46816676.cms |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} If the bill is passed someday, Assam will eventually become a tribal-majority state with Sixth Schedule status applied to the entire state, thus leading to the full exemption of the Citizenship Amendment Act, preventing further future Illegal Immigration.{{Cite web |title=Narendra Modi may turn Assam into a tribal state |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/narendra-modi-assam-elections-tribals-scheduled-tribes-325858-2016-05-27 |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=India Today |date=27 May 2016 |language=en}} The Home Ministry is in touch with the tribal affairs department to consider the proposal but has not yet introduced any Constitutional Amendment Bill for it. According to the 2011 Census, Tribals constitute 12.8% of the state population. Various organizations in Assam, such as the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), have demanded the implementation of an Inner Line Permit system to protect and prevent the state from further illegal immigrants.{{Cite news |date=2024-03-08 |title=AJYCP seeks ILP in Assam and repeal of CAA |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/ajycp-demands-ilp-in-assam-and-repeal-of-caa/articleshow/108313781.cms |access-date=2024-04-22 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}

On May 15, 2024, the first set of citizenship certificates were issued to 14 migrants under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), nearly two months after the Centre notified it, initiating the process of granting Indian nationality to migrant applicants under the CAA. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the citizenship certificates to the 14 applicants in Delhi, after their applications were processed online. Over 350 people were granted Indian citizenship online (digitally signed certificates through email), with Amit Shah acknowledging 25,000+ pending applications, where the processing involves the Election Commission of India (ECI) and district-level committees (DLC) chaired by senior superintendents.{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/mha-issues-first-set-of-citizenship-certificates-under-caa-to-14-persons-9330637/ |title=Centre hands over first set of CAA certificates to 14 applicants |newspaper=Indian Express |date=15 May 2024 |access-date= 15 May 2024|quote="The first set of citizenship certificates after notification of Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were issued today"}}

After receiving Indian citizenship, there were celebrations at the Hindu refugee camp in Delhi's Adarsh Nagar as several family members received their citizenship certificates after many years of living with temporary status, since they left Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistani Hindu refugees living in north Delhi's "Majnu ka Tila" expressed hopes for a better future, and some people who received their citizenship hailed it as the first day of their "new life" in India.

• Illegal immigration to India
• Indian nationality law
• National Register of Citizens
• Refugees in India
• The Foreigners Act, 1946
• Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983
• Assam Accord (1985)
• 1971 Bangladesh genocide
• Religious discrimination in Pakistan
• Communalism (South Asia)

{{notelist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{citation |title=Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955 |publisher=Universal Law Publishing Co. |year=2004 |url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/410520784.pdf |via=United Nations High Commission for Refugees |ref={{sfnref|Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955|2004}}}}
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{{refend}}

• {{cite web|url=http://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-citizenship-amendment-bill-2016-4348|title=The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 – Highlights and Summary|website=PRS Legislative Research}}
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{{commons category|Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019}}

{{wikiquote}}

{{Wikisource|Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019}}

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