SSC
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was passed by Parliament in:
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Answer: Option B — December 2019
Detailed Solution
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament in December 2019; the Lok Sabha passed it on 9 December and the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019. It received the President's assent on 12 December 2019.
What the CAA provides:
- It provides a faster path to Indian citizenship for persons belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
- It applies to those who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.
- Such persons will not be treated as illegal migrants for the purposes of the citizenship law.
- The period of residence required for citizenship by naturalisation was reduced for them from 11 years to 5 years.
Exemptions:
- The Act does not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule.
- It also does not apply to areas covered by the Inner Line Permit system, such as Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur.
Rules:
The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules were notified in March 2024, more than four years after the Act was passed.
Government's justification:
The government said that the Act was meant to help religious minorities who faced persecution in these three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries.
Criticism and protests:
- Critics said that the Act discriminates on the basis of religion, because it excludes Muslims, and violates Article 14 and secularism.
- There were widespread protests across the country, including at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, in late 2019 and early 2020.
- In Assam and the North-East, people protested because they feared an influx of migrants, contrary to the Assam Accord.
Citizenship in the Constitution:
- Articles 5 to 11 in Part II deal with citizenship.
- Article 11 gives Parliament the power to make laws on citizenship.
- The main law on citizenship was enacted by Parliament soon after the Constitution came into force and has been amended several times.
Why not the other options?
- ✗August 2019, January 2020 and December 2018 do not match the date the Act was passed.
Quick tip
Remember: CAA passed in December 2019 (cut-off date 31 December 2014); rules notified in March 2024.
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Union, Territory & Citizenship — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Union, Territory & Citizenship, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers Part I and Part II of the Constitution: the Union and its territory (Articles 1-4), the formation and reorganisation of states, and the provisions on citizenship (Articles 5-11), including how citizenship is acquired and lost under the Citizenship Act, 1955. Questions commonly ask which article describes India as a 'Union of States' (Article 1), how Parliament can create new states (Article 3), and the five ways of acquiring citizenship (birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory). Remember that India provides for single citizenship. Practise the union, territory and citizenship questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.