FAQ On Citizenship Amendment Act & NRC
FAQ On Citizenship Amendment Act & NRC
Is NRC a part of the FAQ?
No; CAA is a separate law and NRC is a separate procedure. The CAA has come into force after its passage from the Parliament, and the Presidential assent on 12th December, 2019, though according to the official notification, the Act comes into effect on 11th December, 2019. While the NRC rules and procedures are yet to be decided, the NRC process in Assam has been implemented by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and mandated by the Assam Accord of 1985.
Do Indian Muslims need to worry about CAA+NRC?
There is no need for an Indian citizen of any religion to worry about CAA or NRC.
Will NRC be for people of a particular religion?
No; the NRC does include people belonging to specific religion. The NRC is the citizen register where all the names of citizens are recorded.
Will people be excluded in NRC on religious grounds?
No; nobody will be discriminated on the basis of their religion, or caste. Whenever the NRC will be implemented, it will neither be applied on the basis of religion nor can it be implemented on the basis of religion. No one can be excluded only because they follow a different religion.
By conducting NRC, will we be asked to present proofs of us being Indians?
Firstly, it is important to know that there has been no such announcement regarding the implementation of the NRC process. However, after its implementation, it would not be like we all will be asked to prove our citizenship. NRC is merely a normal process to register your name in the Citizen’s Register. Just like we made our Aadhar Cards, Identity Cards, or even Voter Cards for participating in elections, similar documents shall be provided for NRC, as and when it is carried out.
How is citizenship decided? Will it be in the hands of the government?
Citizenship of any person is decided on the basis of The Citizenship Rules, 2009. These rules are based on The Citizenship Act, 1955. For any person to be granted with the citizenship of India, the person should have-
- Citizenship by Birth,
- Citizenship by descent
- Citizenship by registration
- Citizenship by naturalization
- Citizenship by incorporation
Q.7] Will I have to provide details of the birth of parents etc. to prove my Indian Citizenship?
A.7] It would be sufficient to provide the details of your birth such as date of birth, month, year and place of birth of your own self, and if that is not possible then the birth details of your parents shall be provided. However, in any other case it is not mandatory to submit the documents by/of the parents. These documents include voter cards, passports, Aadhar, licenses, insurance papers, birth certificates, school leaving certificates, documents relating to land or home or any other similar documents issued by government officials. The list is likely to include more documents so that no Indian citizen has to suffer unnecessarily.
Do I have to prove ancestry dating back before 1971?
No; for pre-1971 genealogy, you do not have to submit any type of Identity card or any documents like the birth certificate of parents/ancestors. This was only valid for the Assam NRC, based on the ‘Assam Accord’ and the directive of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. For the rest of the country, the NRC process is completely different and under the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards), 2003.
If it is so easy to prove identity, then how 19 lakh people in Assam were affected due to NRC?
] Infiltration has always been a major problem in Assam. To curb it, the then Rajeev Gandhi led government, entered into an agreement to prepare NRC in 1985, assuming the cut-off date of 25th March, 1971.
During NRC, will we be asked to present old documents, which are difficult to collect?
No; the intention of the government is not to harass the citizens by putting them in trouble. They will be required to provide common documents to prove their identity. When the NRC will be put into force, the rules and regulation thereafter formed would be done in such a way that causes no trouble to anyone.
What if a person is illiterate and does not have relevant documents?
In this case, the person will be allowed to bring a witness. Also, other evidence and community verifications could be done without putting anyone under undue trouble.
There are many people in India who do not have homes, are poor and are neither educated nor do they have any other basis of identity. What will happen to them?
There are people who belong to this stratum, but these are also those who might also be earning benefit of welfare schemes granted by the government. Their identity will be established on the basis of that.
Does NRC exclude anyone on the basis of being transgender, atheist, Dalits, women and landless with/without documents?
No; as and when the NRC will be carried out, it would not affect any of the mentioned above.
In conclusion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed crowds at a BJP rally in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on 22nd December, 2019; slamming intellectuals who were spreading misinformation, and misleading the masses against the NRC and CAA. He even mentioned that the government has never talked about an all-India NRC, and that the intention is never to follow the “divide and rule politics”, or discriminate the countrymen on the basis of religion; he sought to assuage all the concerns of the people by ensuring them that no law formulated by the government will ever be for disrupting their peace and livelihood.