Image Courtesy: Getty Images
The questions asked for data on number of Sikh and Hindus refugees who entered India in the past 3 years from these two countries, the number of these refugees granted citizenship and asked for a timeline as to when the rest of the refugees will be granted Indian citizenship.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated that 391 Afghani and 1595 Pakistani migrants, have been granted Indian Citizenship in the last 3 years i.e. from 2016 to 2018. Further, the Ministry also provided data of the current year stating that 40 Afghani and 712 Pakistani migrants have been granted citizenship in 2019 until December 6.
The government further said that in 2018 they have started capturing citizenship data pertaining to migrants belonging to minority communities such as Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian. Since this system was introduced in 2018, (total of) 927 Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan and Pakistan have been granted citizenship. If this data is being maintained for each community, it is unclear why the MHA has not provided separate data on Sikhs and Hindus.
The government, however said that it does not centrally maintain data regarding Sikh and Hindu refugees who have entered India from Afghanistan and Pakistan and consequently it cannot provide data on how many such refugees have not been granted citizenship yet.
Evidently, much before the Citizenship Amendment Bill could be passed by the Parliament, the government has started collating data on migrants categorizing them into their religions to use such data for their own benefit in the future. It may be used to prove its point that so many people belonging to these communities have faced religious persecution and the government has done the noble deed of giving them asylum and citizenship rights.
The Bill, however, provides for granting citizenship to migrants who entered India on or before 31st December 2014, yet the government is maintaining this data for migrants being granted citizenship after this period, the reason for the same, one cannot ascertain at this moment.
Related: