Guwahati, May 15: Two months after the Union Home Ministry notified the rules, the first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was issued to 14 people in New Delhi on Wednesday, starting the process of granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
According to reports, the citizenship certificates were handed over to 14 people by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla after their applications were processed online through a designated portal.
It may be mentioned that the CAA was enacted in December 2019 to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians.
After the enactment, the amendment act got the president's approval. However, the rules under which Indian citizenship was granted were issued only on March 11, 2024, after over four years of delay.
