NRC+CAA: CLEARING THE MYTHS
Soumya Shekhar
Lawyer | Founder @ Remote Lawyer | Fractional General Counsel | Commercial Contracts | Fintech | Web 3.0 | AI | Data Privacy |Fundraising | Startups
NRC has only been done in Assam till now and the cut off date was 1971, hence those whose documents did not correspond to the year 1971 had to show relationship with their father/grandfather through a set of documents which inter alia include any legally mandated valid identification. A nation-wide NRC is yet to come and hence, making assumptions such as the cumulative effect of NRC +CAA will be exclusive or communal is unfounded and erroneous.
A few things are to be noted about the NRC and CAA:
a. It is still to be seen how the nationwide NRC will be implemented. Without knowing the same, we can't really say anything or assume that a cumulative effect of CAA+NRC will be divisive.
b. Poor people irrespective of all religions may face problems because they may not have the necessary documents. However, it remains to be seen 'what documents will be required', 'what will be the cutoff date' etc.
c. CAA only helps persecuted religious minorities to apply for fast track citizenship in India. If an Indian (irrespective of religion) who was born in India is excluded, he cannot opt for the CAA route, as he/she is not a persecuted religious minority coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan or Bangladesh. Also, an Indian (irrespective of religion) who was born in India and has lived here ever since, does not need the CAA. All CAA does is reduce the residency requirement. As Indians already fulfill this residency requirement, they will not benefit in any manner from CAA. Hence, the assumptions which are being made that if a Hindu is excluded from NRC, he can claim the benefit of CAA are wrong. Both Indian Hindus and Indian Muslims will not be able to claim the benefit of CAA. Hence the only people who will benefit from CAA+NRC are the persecuted religious minorities as the CAA originally intended. It will not affect the rights of any existing citizen, irrespective of religion.
d. Also those who entered India after 2014, will not get fast track citizenship irrespective of religion.
e. So, no Indian citizen irrespective of religion will be affected.
However, poor people who may not have any documents, irrespective of religion may get affected. The question is not of `Hindu Rashtra' or 'Othering of minorities', it is of practical implementation. What needs to be done is to implement NRC in such a manner that even the poorest of Indians is not left out. NRC is required to weed out illegal infiltration. India is a poor country with limited resources and if we open our doors to illegal migrants, then it may prove disastrous for the country and its citizens' well-being. However, the issue with NRC is not that it coupled with CAA will lead to ethnic cleansing. The issue is that India is a huge country with a massive population and practical implementation may pose a challenge. We, as Indians, should work together to ensure that the NRC is conducted error-free and not even a single Indian, no matter which religion he belongs to, is left out of the process.
Lawyer at Supreme Court of India
5 年Soumya your update on NRC+ CAA is timely and we'll written. An update to your update is that Supreme Court of India has issued notice on the petitions challenging these laws. So the final word on these laws will be pronounced by the Judiciary and our updates thereafter will be on what the Supreme Court decides !! As of today, NRC+CAA looks like an attempt by the present Government of India to primarily target lskhs of Bangladeshi Muslims who have illegally infiltrated into India in order to ensure that they leave India and grant citizenship to those Non-Muslims who belong to the three notified countries. The issue before the Supreme Court appears to be exclusion of people from these notified countries as well as people from countries other than these notified countries. As far as NRC is concerned, the Government of India is well within its Sovereign right and duty to call for such an exercise as long as it establishes legitimate norms for undertaking this gigantic exercise. One way for the Government of India to dispel the apprehension against NRC will be to call upon the Supreme Court of India in the pending petitions to lay down guidelines for undertaking the NRC exercise. Syed Naqvi Advocate Supreme Court of India.
Associate at AZB Partners
5 年In point C, you state that the process of granting citizenship to nationals of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who are a religious minority there and face persecution on grounds of the same, will be sped. However, no where in the CAA, is there a mention of the term persecution. The 1951 Refugee Convention here becomes a highly relevant document here, as it lays down the meaning of a refugee. It mandates that refugees must have a well founded fear of persecution in the State, they are nationals of. But, CAA diverts from this. The 1951 convention also states that the Convention must be applied without discrimination as to religion. Acknowledging that India is not a signatory member to this Convention and has no domestic laws to govern refugees, I believe that Point C is flawed, as it only dilutes actual protection of refugees or individuals facing persecution owing to their religion. The Act does not term these minority religious groups as refugees or mandate that they ought to face persecution. In such a case, they're mere individuals who follow a particular religion, and BECAUSE of this allegiance, grant of citizenship will be sped.
Deputy General Counsel at Innovaccer
5 年Well explained Soumya! Almost, everybody is deriving vague and irrational conclusions without actually understanding this.