USCIRF concerned over India’s Citizenship Amendment Act 

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has voiced concern over the Indian government’s notification of the Citizenship Amendment Rules (CAR) in a move to begin implementing the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

“The problematic CAA establishes a religious requirement for asylum seekers in India fleeing neighboring countries,” USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck testified at a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing last week.

READ: USCIRF for targeted sanctions against India for religious freedom violations (May 2, 2023)

“While it provides a fast-track to citizenship for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians, the law explicitly excludes Muslims. If the law were truly aimed at protecting persecuted religious minorities, it would include Rohingya Muslims from Burma, Ahmadiyya Muslims from Pakistan, or Hazara Shi’a from Afghanistan, among others, “ he said, according to a USCIRF press release Monday.

“No one should be denied citizenship based on religion or belief,” said Schneck urging “members of Congress to continue to publicly call out religious freedom issues in India, and to include religious freedom in discussions with government counterparts and importantly, during congressional delegations.”

READ: Rashida Tlaib, USCIRF officials allege human rights violations under Modi (July 20, 2023)

The newly announced rules confirm that those seeking Indian citizenship must prove they arrived in the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Afghanistan before December 31, 2014, excluding those fleeing more recent acts of persecution, the release stated.

The CAA does not include citizenship for those fleeing non-Muslim majority nations, such as Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims from China, the release noted.

The CAA was initially passed in 2019; however, the Indian government delayed its implementation following large-scale, months-long protests across the country.

Read: India slams USCIRF report on religious freedom in India (November 25, 2022)

“As the State Department recently noted, respect for religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic principles,” said USCIRF Commissioner David Curry urging “the US government to work with Indian authorities to release the human rights activists arbitrarily detained that advocated for religious minorities.”

CAA rules provide for granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India till Dec 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.

USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the US Congress to monitor, analyze and report on religious freedom abroad.

Read: Religious freedom, related human rights in India under ongoing threat: USCIRF (November 24, 2022)