INSIGHT UK welcomes the Government of India’s implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA). Similar to the Lautenberg-Spectre amendment in the US and the Nationality & Border Act in the UK, the long-awaited CAA offers protection and preference to persecuted minorities.
INSIGHT UK has been raising the issue of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian minorities due to extreme, historical and ongoing religious persecution in the Islamic Nations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
In 1947 the Hindu population in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was around 24% but today the Hindu population in Pakistan is less than 1%. Thousands of Hindu and Christian girls, especially tribals are abducted annually in Pakistan.
The Hindu population in Bangladesh where the state religion is Islam was 30 percent but is less than 7 percent today and it is estimated that this dwindling population of Hindus will cease to exist by 2030.
Sikhs, one of the worst persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan & Afghanistan stand to benefit from the CAA.
Notably any other faith, sex, creed or gender can apply for Indian citizenship through the normal immigration route under the Citizenship Act which remains open for all.
CAA, India’s civilisational responsibility, undoes decades of injustice and reaffirms its commitment to religious freedom, equality and human rights, an integral part of the nation’s duty toward human rights and secular ethos.
