14 people given citizenship certificates for the first time under CAA

The first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was issued Wednesday, 15 May, in New Delhi to 14 people, starting the process of granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the certificates to the 14 people after their applications were processed online through a designated portal. The Indian Express quoted a Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson, who said that the Empowered Committee, Delhi, headed by the Director (Census Operation), Delhi, after due scrutiny, had decided to grant citizenship to 14 applicants. Accordingly, the director (census operation) granted certificates to these applicants.

The CAA was enacted in December 2019 to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.

After the enactment, the CAA got the president's assent but the rules under which the Indian citizenship was granted were issued only on 11 March 2024 after over four years delay.

In its report, The Hindu said the government did not disclose the country of origin of the applicants, but a government source told the paper that most applicants were Pakistani Hindus and had come from Pakistan in 2013.

The news report said that as applications were reviewed and finalised, certificates were being sent by post to beneficiaries across various parts of the country. Most Pakistani Hindus who legally entered India are now residing in states such as Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi, it said.

The article also mentioned that the number of applicants from West Bengal, including Matuas, Namasudras, and those excluded from Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC), remains unclear.

The citizenship portal mandates that applicants declare their country of origin and submit at least one document proving their roots in Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Afghanistan. However, many intended beneficiaries in West Bengal, having entered India without documentation, are unable to apply under the CAA.

In Delhi, families who recently received citizenship recounted that this was the first time they had applied for citizenship since arriving in India on a tourist visa in 2013, The Hindu reported.

With PTI inputs