Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 9: Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, the district judges of 31 districts and the home secretaries of nine states have the authority to confer Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians arriving in the nation from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
A total of 1,414 foreigners from various minority communities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan received Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation between April 1 and December 31, 2021, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) annual report for 2021–22.
It is significant that the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 (CAA) was not used to confer Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who entered the nation from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
In accordance with the CAA, these non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh may also be granted Indian citizenship.
However, as the government has not yet established the CAA’s rules, no one has received Indian citizenship as a result of it.
According to the MHA’s annual report, in 2021–22, the Centre delegated its authority to grant Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation to foreigners from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who are members of the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, or Parsi communities to the collectors of 13 additional districts and the home secretaries of two additional states.
