Category Social Sciences

What is the argument of the government regarding New Citizenship Act?

The government clarifies that Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are Islamic countries where Muslims are in majority hence they cannot be treated as persecuted minorities. It also assures that the application from any other community will be examined on a case-to-case basis.

The argument made by the Union government is that this is a ‘reasonable classification’ permissible under the Constitution. Although the Constitution does not use these words, the test goes back to the State of West Bengal vs Anwar Ali Sarkar (1952), in which the Supreme Court was interpreting the scope of Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law.

However, this argument of the government goes against the grain of constitutional law developed by the Supreme Court since the 1950s and fundamentally misunderstands what the court said in Anwar Ali Sarkar. What the court actually said was (in the words of Justice SR Das): “Article 14 does not insist that every piece of legislation must have universal application and it does not take away from the State the power to classify persons for the purposes of legislation, but the classification must be rational, and in order to satisfy this test  (i) the classification must be founded on an intelligible differential which distinguished those that are grouped together from others, and (ii) that differential must have a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the Act.”
 

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What do critics say about New Citizenship Act?

As the Act does not make illegal Muslim immigrants eligible for Indian citizenship, critics argue that it is discriminatory. As the Act singles out Muslims who constitute nearly 15% of the country’s population, they say the Act is communal in nature.

The Act violates the fundamental Right to Equality guaranteed by the Constitution and intends to grant citizenship to a section of illegal immigrants by making exclusion on the basis of religion, they say.

Undocumented immigrants from other neighbouring countries, particularly Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and the Maldives, find no place in the Act. This has also come under sharp criticism.

 

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How many will benefit by the New Citizenship Act at present?

There are no official figures other than records furnished by the Intelligence Bureau before the Joint Parliamentary Commission which said there are 31,313 persons belonging to these minority communities living in India on Long Term Visa. They have sought refuge in India on grounds of religious persecution. However, Home Minister Amit Shah has said the new legislation will give a new dawn to lakhs and crores of people. Some political parties have asked for the exact number of beneficiaries.

Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The Bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to 5 years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries. The Bill includes new provisions for cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) if there are any violations of the provisions of this Act or provisions of any other law of India. It also adds the opportunity for the OCI holder to be heard before the cancellation.

 

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What does the Citizenship Act entail?

  • The Citizenship (Amendment) Act will make illegal immigrants facing religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. As per the Act, any person belonging to the Hindu Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian faith will not be considered an illegal immigrant if the person entered Indian on or before December 31, 2014.
  • Also that person must have resided in India for a period of at least five years to be eligible for Indian citizenship.
  • It is to be noted that the Act does not include Muslims.
  • The Citizenship Act 1955, India’s previous citizenship law, did not consider religious affiliation to be a criterion for eligibility.

An illegal immigrant is defined as a person who either entered the country without proper documents, or stayed on beyond the permitted time.

 

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What is the new Citizenship Act all about?

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, sought to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 to make illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. The Bill was first introduced in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, but was passed only in the Lok Sabha. The Bill lapsed as it could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha then.

It was again introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah in December 2019 in Parliament. Despite heated debates over certain aspects of the Bill, it was passed by both Houses. Following this, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, was sent to President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent. After his assent, it because an Act on December 12.

Meanwhile, the Act sparked massive protests in Assam and other northeastern states. Thousands of people poured onto the streets defying curfew. Army troops were deployed. Police firing and violence crippled the states.

The Act was vociferously opposed by citizens and civil society groups and politicians from across the parties because of its communal nature.

The Indian Union Muslim League moved the Supreme Court challenging the Act.

 

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How do they measure a mountain?

In 1749 the British ‘Survey of India’ identified a lofty peak in the distant ranges of the Himalayas. It was called Peak XV, but it was not until 1849 that another survey set out to measure its height. When the survey was completed in 1852 it was confirmed that Peak XV was the highest mountain in the world.

Various names were suggested for it, including Devadhunga (Throne of Gods) and Guarishankar (Gleaming White Bride of Shiva). The Tibetans call it Chomolungma (Goddess Mother of the World). But the name approved by the Royal Geographical Society in London was suggested by Andrew Waugh, then Surveyor General of India. He thought it should be named after his predecessor – Sir George Everest.

Classical surveying techniques were used to calculate Everest’s height. First of all a baseline several miles long was measured along the ground at a known elevation above sea level. The top of the mountain could be seen from both ends of the line, and bearings were taken to the peak with theodolites – instruments which accurately measure angles.

From a knowledge of two angles and the length of one side of a triangle, the lengths of the other sides can be worked out – giving the distance of the peak from the baseline. Further calculations can then give the height. The surveyors measured Everest from six different sites – producing six figures ranging between 28,990 and 29,026ft (8836 and 8847m). The average came to exactly 29,000ft (8839m) – but because it sounded like an approximation they added 2ft (0.6m), and produced their authoritative answer – 29,002ft (8840m).

Everest’s position as the world’s highest mountain went unquestioned until 1986, when George Wallerstein, from the University of Washington, using a different method, claimed that another Himalayan mountain, K-2, might be 36ft (11m) higher.

Wallerstein’s claim was so startling that an Italian expedition visiting the Himalayas in 1987 decided to check it. They placed receivers part-way up Everest and K-2, and used Navstar signals to establish their exact height of the baseline on which calculations are based.

The team, led by geologist Ardito Desio, then calculated the heights of the two mountains using theodolites set up on the receivers’ positions. Their conclusion was that Wallerstein was wrong: Everest was measured at 29,108ft (8872m), a full 840ft (256m) higher than K-2.

 

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