#232: CAA | All you need for UPSC!

Detail, Legal issue, Govt. stance, Global repercussions

What’s CAA?

1. In simpler words,

It grants citizenship to migrants of following communities from 3 countries: 🇧🇩🇵🇰🇦🇫

• Jain
• Sikh
• Parsi
• Hindu
• Buddhist
• Christian

*They must have entered India before 31/12/2014

**Exempted areas: Tribal regions of AS, MG, MZ, TR + ILP

Note:

a) CAA does not impact citizenship of any existing Indian citizen

b) It reduces residency requirement for naturalization from 11 years to 5 years

c) NRC is said to be main point of contention in this 'chronology'

2. Legal Challenge

200+ petitions pending in SC led by Indian Union Muslim League

Grounds?👇🏼

Petitions claim CAA to be violative of Article 14 (RTE)

As per them:

• religion as a qualifier or a filter violates the RTE

• NRC in Assam will result in targeting Muslims

3. Court stance

SC stated: "Law has to clear two hoops to pass equality test"

• Any differentiation must be based on intelligible differentia

• The differentia must have rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the act

Another imp. Q: Secularism!

4. Diplomatic Blockades

The game was left open for a series of diplomatic clockwork

• 🇵🇰issued critical statements

• 🇦🇫 sought equal treatment of Afghans

• 🇧🇩 saw a turmoil with fears of reverse migration; it maintained CAA to be India's internal matter

However, it became embarrassing for PM Hasina portraying her country as unsafe for minorities

(PM Hasina is on friendly terms with India)

Largely, Indian diplomats handled the matter w/o any major friction

What next?

PM Modi & the BJP is certain of third term

With promise of 'bigger decisions',

the govt. is unlikely to retract on either NRC or CAA

What happens next?

While we learn the developments, you forward this email to a friend who you care about for CAA revision in UPSC! :)