Amidst the political uproar surrounding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Ministry of Home Affairs stated on Tuesday that there is no need for Indian Muslims to worry in any way about the CAA because this law has nothing to do with Indian Muslims who possess the same rights as their Hindu Indian counterparts.
The Ministry clarified its position on the CAA, attempting to dispel concerns of a certain segment of Muslims and students, stating clearly that "after this law, no Indian citizen will be asked to submit any documents to prove their citizenship."
The Ministry of Home Affairs stated in a release, "There is no need for Indian Muslims to worry in any way because this law does not affect their citizenship. The Citizenship law has nothing to do with the current 180 million Indian Muslims who have the same rights as their Hindu Indian counterparts."
The Centre notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Monday to swiftly grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, without documents.
In its statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, "Due to the atrocities against minorities in those three Muslim countries, the image of Islam has been badly tarnished worldwide. However, as Islam is a peaceful religion, it never promotes hatred, violence, or oppression based on religious grounds."
In a statement, it was said that this law saves the image of Islam from being tarnished in the name of atrocities. Emphasizing the necessity of the law, the Ministry stated that there is no agreement to send immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh back to these countries.
The statement mentioned, "This citizenship law is not related to the expulsion of illegal immigrants. Therefore, it is inappropriate for a section of people, including Muslims and students, to be concerned that CAA is against Muslim minorities."
The Ministry said that Section 6 of the Citizenship Act, which is related to citizenship on a natural basis, does not restrict Muslims from obtaining Indian citizenship from anywhere in the world.
The statement mentioned that since independence, without reducing the freedom and opportunities of Indian Muslims like Indian citizens of other religions, CAA has reduced the eligibility period for citizenship applications for people who have faced persecution and shown generosity towards them since December 31, 2014, or before coming to India.