Centre To Grant Citizenship To Minorities From Pakistan, Bangladesh And Afghanistan In Two Districts Of Gujarat

The Union government has decided to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and currently living in two districts of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, also provides for granting Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but the rules under the act have not been framed by the government yet.

According to a Union Home Ministry notification, those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians residing in the districts of Anand and Mehsana in Gujarat will be allowed registration as a citizen of India under section 5 or will be granted certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.

The notification read that such people living in the two districts of Gujarat have to submit their applications online which will then be verified by the collector at the district level.

After completing the entire process, the collector, being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, is empowered to grant him or her the citizenship of India, the notification said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had issued similar orders granting the district magistrates the power to process the citizenship certificates to migrants from the six communities who have legal documents.

Earlier, it was done in 2016, 2018 and 2021 in several districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.

The Narendra Modi government has not yet notified the CAA, which would reduce the requirement of naturalisation from 11 years to five years for the migrants belonging to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

(With inputs from PTI)