Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Narendra Modi-government on Monday notified implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules. “Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be notifying today, the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship,” the Ministry of Home Aaffairs said, in a post on X.
The new rule, which makes religion the sixth need for becoming an Indian citizen, will help persecuted non-Muslim migrants from three of its neighboring countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. These migrants include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians. It would apply to anybody who moved to India prior to December 31, 2014. Refugees without documentation from these neighboring countries will also benefit from the CAA.
The Citizenship Act, 1955, which established five ways to become an Indian citizen, including birth in India, descent, registration, naturalization (long-term residency in India), and merger of territory into India, governed citizenship up to this point. The announcement was made a month after Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized that the CAA will be put into effect prior to this year’s Lok Sabha elections. At a Delhi event, Shah had stated, “CAA will come into effect before the election and nobody should be confused about this.”
