MHA informs citizenship given to 3117 minorities from Pak, Bangla, Afghanistan over 4 yrs

In the previous four years, 3,117 minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan have been granted Indian citizenship, said MoS Home Nityanand Rai in the Rajya Sabha. MP Dr K Keshava Rao had inquired about the total number of citizenship applications received from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Christian minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in the years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and how many of them were granted Indian citizenship.

MoS Rai stated in his response that 8244 citizenship petitions from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Christian minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan were received in the years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. During that time, the government gave Indian citizenship to 3117 people.

When asked about the total number of requests received by the government from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Christian minorities groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan seeking refuge in Indian territory in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, he replied, "The total number of requests received by the government from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Christian minorities groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan seeking refuge in Indian territory during 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021."

He said that the provisions of The Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and The Citizenship Act, 1955 apply to all foreign nationals, including refugees. According to a report by news agency PTI, all foreign nationals, including refugees, are governed by the terms of The Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and The Citizenship Act, 1955.

According to MoS Rai, there are 1,152 applications pending from Afghanistan, 428 from stateless people, 223 from Sri Lanka and the United States, 189 from Nepal, and 161 from Bangladesh until December 14, 2021, in response to a separate question from Member of Parliament Abdul Wahab on current applicants for Indian citizenship. He further added that as many as 10 individuals from China had applied for Indian citizenship.

Citizenship Amendment Act

The government introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019 to offer citizenship to persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians. Indigenous communities in Assam and the northeastern states protested the CAA, claiming it threatened them. Between 2019 and 2020, protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) lasted for months in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh.

The administration said in July that the implementation of CAA will be delayed and that an extension until January 9 of next year had been requested. Nityanand Rai confirmed this, saying that the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had been asked to give an extension of time to establish the CAA regulations.

(with inputs from ANI/PTI)