BREAKING: CAA goes LIVE! Visit this website for Indian citizenship
The Ministry of Home Affairs has introduced a web portal where individuals persecuted on religious grounds from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh can apply for Indian citizenship.
FollowThe Union Home Ministry (MHA) has launched a web portal (https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in) where individuals persecuted from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh based on religious grounds of six minority communities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians -- can apply for Indian citizenship.Â
This initiative follows the notification of the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019) by the MHA on Monday. These rules, now known as the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, facilitate the granting of Indian citizenship to refugees belonging to the aforementioned communities who had sought refuge in India before December 31, 2014.
The Narendra Modi government had on Monday, March 11, 2024, officially announced the implementation of the rules governing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Enacted by Parliament in 2019 amidst widespread protests, the CAA streamlines the citizenship process for non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who fled persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before 2014. Despite its passage, the Act has encountered numerous delays and faced ongoing criticism from opposition parties.
In a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), the Union Ministry for Home Affairs declared, "Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified 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 a grant of Indian citizenship."
The application process will be conducted entirely online through a newly established portal, where applicants are required to declare the year of their entry into India without travel documents.
Following earlier speculation about the notification of the CAA rules, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated, "Let me see the rules first. The notification has not been issued yet. If people are deprived of their rights under the rules, then we will fight against it. This is BJP's publicity for elections, it is nothing else."
