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Monday, December 23, 2019

Citizenship Amendment Bill(CAB) 2019 - Govt issues 8-point 'myth-buster' on CAB



1) Myth: CAB will provide citizenship to Bengali Hindus

Fact: CAB does not automatically confer Indian citizenship to Bengali Hindus. It is just an enabling legislation for persons belonging to six minority communities of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It has been proposed on extremely humanitarian grounds as these minorities had fled from these three countries due to persecution on grounds of their religion.

2) Myth: CAB dilutes 'Assam Accord'

Fact: CAB does not dilute the sanctity of the Assam Accord as far as the cut-off date of March 24, 1971, stipulated for detection/deportation of illegal immigrants is concerned.

3) Myth: CAB is against the interest of indigenous people of Assam.

Fact: CAB is not Assam-centric. It is applicable to the whole country. Citizenship Amendment Bill is definitely not against National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is being updated to protect indigenous communities from illegal immigrants.

4) Myth: CAB will lead to domination of Bengali speaking people.

Fact: Most of the Hindu Bengali population is settled in Barak Valley of Assam, where Bengali is declared the second State language. In Brahmaputra Valley, Hindu Bengalis are settled in isolated pockets and have adapted themselves to Assamese language.

5) Myth: Bengali Hindus will become burden for Assam.

Fact: CAB is applicable to the whole country. Persons facing religious persecution are not settled only in Assam. They are staying in other parts of the country as well.

6) Myth: CAB will trigger fresh migration of Hindus from Bangladesh.

Fact: Most of the minorities have already migrated from Bangladesh. Moreover, the scale of atrocities on them in Bangladesh has been coming down in recent years. In the changed scenario, large-scale migration on account of religious persecution is now a remote possibility. Further, there is a cut-off date of December 31, 2014 and benefits under Citizenship Amendment Bill will not be available for members of the religious minorities who migrate to India after the cut-off date.

7) Myth: CAB is a ploy to grab tribal land by accommodating Hindu Bengalis.

Fact: Hindu Bengalis are mostly settled in Barak Valley, away from tribal belts and blocks. Further, Citizenship Amendment Bill does not contradict laws and regulations for protection of tribal lands. Citizenship Amendment Bill is not applicable in areas where provisions of ILP and sixth schedule of the Constitution apply.

8) Myth: CAB is discriminatory against Muslims.

Fact: Any foreigner of any religion from any country can apply for Indian citizenship if he/she is eligible to do so as per the existing provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Citizenship Amendment Bill does not change these provisions at all. It only enables migrants of six minority communities from three countries to apply for Indian citizenship if they meet the given criteria.

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