(a) whether the Hindus of the neighbouring countries and the minorities of other countries are facing problem and incidents of discrimination in getting Indian Citizenship;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of the remedial steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI NITYANAND RAI)
(a) to (c): Migrants, including Hindus, of the neighboring countries and the minorities of other countries can acquire citizenship of India as per the provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and rules made thereunder on becoming eligible for the same.
For speedy disposal of citizenship applications of migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Central Government, in December,
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2016, delegated its power to grant citizenship by registration under Section 5 and by naturalisation under Section 6 of The Citizenship Act, 1955 to the Collectors of 16 Districts in 7 States and Home Secretaries of these 7 States where most of these migrants are residing. Vide notification dated 23.10.2018 this delegation of power has been extended till further orders.
To facilitate the aforesaid minority migrants, the Citizenship Rules, 2009 were simplified by notifying the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2016 on 23 December, 2016. Through this amendment, these migrants were facilitated by:-
(a). Allowing them to make any declaration or submit any application regarding grant of Indian citizenship before Sub-Divisional Magistrate besides the District Collector.
(b). Allowing them to be administered oath of allegiance to Indian Constitution by Sub-Divisional Magistrates also besides the District Collectors, during processing of their application for grant of citizenship.
(c). Reducing fees for various citizenship services which ranged from Rs.250/- to Rs. 15,000/- to just Rs.100/- in case of legal migrants belonging to the aforesaid communities from the aforesaid countries.
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All eligible foreigners, including aforesaid migrants, may fill applications for Indian citizenship in the online mode on the MHA website: “https//indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in”. End-to-end processing and decision on the Citienship applications has been made completely online since 2018.
Further to facilitate grant of citizenship to migrants, belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who have entered India on or before 31.12.2014 and who have been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (C) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule/order made thereunder, the Citizenship Act, 1955 has been amended vide the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 which has came into force on 10.01.2020.
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