The right to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan has been given to the home secretaries of 9 states and 31 district officials. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from these countries will be given Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955. According to the annual report of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for the year 2021-22, about 1414 people from the minority community of these three countries have been given Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act.
According to the Union Home Ministry’s annual report, the Center has decided to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2021-22 and to 13 district collectors and home secretaries of the two states. This responsibility has been delegated. The report states that along with this, the collectors of 29 districts and the home secretaries of 9 states have the right to grant citizenship to non-Muslims coming from these countries.
It is to be noted that the Citizenship Act-1955 has a different meaning from the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act-2019. The Ministry of Home Affairs has authorized the granting of citizenship of India under the Citizenship Act, 1955. Also, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) provides for granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslims coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, the government has not yet framed rules under the CAA, so no foreigner has been granted Indian citizenship under this law so far.