India Finally Implements Controversial Citizenship Law

Facts

• Over four years after its initial announcement sparked intense protests and weeks before the country goes to polls, India on Monday announced the implementation of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).¹
• The 2019 law offers citizenship to Hindu, Parsi, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Christian refugees from neighboring countries who entered India before Dec. 31, 2014. However, the highly controversial list leaves out Muslims.²
• Massive protests against CAA turned violent, leaving around 100 dead across India in 2020. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members of his party had called the protesters 'anti-nationals' and 'traitors.'³
• Critics of CAA say it makes religion a criterion for citizenship for the first time in India. The law's pairing with the also highly controversial National Register of Citizens makes it even more contentious.⁴
• According to critics, the register could potentially strip millions of Indians of their citizenship. While people of other faiths would have the CAA path to redressal, India's Muslims won't have the same option.⁵
• Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, however, has emphasized that CAA is only intended to help South Asia's persecuted minorities — especially those in Muslim-minority nations — and does not threaten India's Muslim population.⁶

Sources: ¹US News & World Report, ²Al Jazeera, ³The National, ⁴NDTV.com, ⁵Bloomberg and ⁶The Economic Times.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by India News. The notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act's (CAA) rules is a bad-faith, shockingly anti-Muslim ploy the Narendra Modi government has played on India, especially coming so close to the national election. Modi is looking to turn poor people from neighboring countries into a guaranteed voter base for his party. Millions of Indians oppose CAA strongly and their fury will be reflected in the upcoming polls.
• Right narrative, as provided by News9live. The notification of CAA rules is a bold and timely move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, fulfilling another of the promises he made to the country. Along with the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and freeing Kashmir from the clutches of Article 370, this is a milestone achieved. All the fear-mongering that has followed the enactment of the law is unfounded and needs to be called out.

Predictions