Citizenship Act 1955: Citizenship of India to non-Muslims of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan

India has taken an important decision for non-Muslims of neighboring countries. Under this, the Home Secretaries of 9 states and 31 district officers have been empowered to grant citizenship to the people of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities coming to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. . This decision has been taken under the Citizenship Act 1955.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has released the annual report. This report is for 2021-22, from 1 April to 31 December 2021. According to this, a total of 1,414 foreign nationals of these minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have been granted Indian citizenship. This work has been completed through registration under the Citizenship Act 1955.

The decision to give citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from other countries under the Citizenship Act of 1955 instead of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 assumes great significance.

However, under the CAA, the government has not yet laid down the rules and therefore no one is being given citizenship under it. The MHA's annual report states that the Center has given the right to grant Indian citizenship to 13 more district collectors and two more to state home secretaries.

Non-Muslims who came to India from these three countries will have to apply online for citizenship. After this, the collector will verify these applications at the district level. The report along with the application will be made available online to the central government. After this process the collector will issue the certificate.