Why amending CAB has become the reason for riots in India?

The amendment in CAB is one of the most heated topics that have created havoc in many states of India. It is already a sizzling topic gaining mixed reactions globally. The bill has been passed in both the houses of the parliament and has got consent from the President also.

But the people in India haven’t accepted this newly amended law. To oppose this, various states in India are facing violating acts. While the attacks are spearheaded by the northeastern parts and in the other parts, Muslims have taken the lead.

People, including the campus students, have come on streets, protesting, creating violence, arson the buses, tyres, and cars, throwing stones on police and blocking the roads. And the government, on the other hand, is trying to assure the people that nothing to be afraid of. To stop the crowd from violating police had to do altercation, lathi charge, and empty tear gas but nothin seems to work much. Around 56 students are said to be injured, and many were detained in Delhi. A few amendments in bill changed peace into riots in many states. What exactly does this bill all about?

What is Citizenship Act Bill 1955?

Parliament enacted the Citizenship Act of 1955 under Article 11 of the constitution. The bill lays down the applicability of Indian citizenship based on birth, descent, registration, and naturalization. It also foresees the future by adding a clause about the grant of citizenship to people who may be part of a territory that India may add or annex in the future. The bill of 1955 stops illegal immigrants from acquiring Indian citizens. However there have been exceptions at the time of the Rajiv Gandhi government, Citizenship act was granted to 1,50,000 Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka.

Amendment in CAB  

The CAB of 2019 seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 by making illegal migrants including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for Indian citizenship. The residency period has also been reduced from 12 yrs to 7 yrs. The bill also includes the cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OIC) in case they violate any law.  

Why the bill is being opposed?

The first and the most heated point of discussion is the bill is discriminatory as it includes only six regions overlooking other religions, mainly ‘Muslims’ and is limited to migrants only from three countries.

According to the government, the bill is about religious persecution of minorities. So there is no point that Muslims will be religiously persecuted in their own countries which have declared them as Islamic countries officially. So keeping Muslims out of this bill is logical. As per the Indian laws, anyone can apply for the citizenship in India irrespective of its religion, color or nationality; therefore Muslims can still apply for citizenship. Granting of Indian citizenship to 566 Muslims from 2014 to 2019 proves this.

The second heated reason is including only 3 countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the amended CAB. 

This is because lakhs of refugees who have been living in India for decades have been denied civil and political rights which the existing government wants to correct. This has been done to avoid situations that exist in 1947 at the time of partition, when many Hindus, Sikhs, and other religions could not come to India due to various reasons. This amendment will give them the chance to be a citizen of India if they are here or in future if they wish. 

The third reason is CAB violates National Citizens Register (NRC) in Assam where the cut-off date is 1971, but now that date will shift to 31 December 2014. This will surely allow more Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. Assamese fear that with more Bangladeshi migrants will threaten the Assam’s language and culture. As per the 2011 census, the Assamese speaking population was down from 58% to 48% while the Bengali speaking population was up from 22% to 32%. 

Likewise, North-east, including Sikkim, also opposes the bill. The passing of the bill will not only put the culture and languages in danger, but the already scarce resources will be in trouble.

Although the government is giving assurance to the states to provide proper safeguards, this has only given rise to riots and nothing more. 

Whether the bill was amended to gain add-on voters for the next election or the country’s good, the passing of this bill has taken the sleep of lakhs of people making the situation worse every day. I hope the government will soon find some solution to calm down the angry Indians.