The Citizenship Amendment Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha recently and is now pending in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill aims to relax the provision of eligibility of citizenship by naturalization. It makes minority communities from the countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan eligible to apply for citizenship after 6 years of residence in India. The cut-off date is set as 31 December 2014. The minority community in these nations have fled persecution from the state and public to find refuge in India. The Union of India has brought this Bill to make these state-less people eligible to apply for citizenship given their present condition.

There was a band declared in the state of Arunachal Pradesh on the apprehension that the Bill will grant citizenship status to Chakma and Hajong community living in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Here I would like to clarify the apprehensions that has caused anxiety in the mind of people living in the state.

• The Chakma and Hajong community are already the citizens of India. They were granted citizenship by the Honorable Supreme Court of India. Hence the idea that this Bill is aimed at granting these community citizenship status is a misconception.
• The Bill is applicable to entire India. Assam as a state does seem to be disproportionately affected by the Bill. However, the central government is reaching out to the state government of Assam to ensure it doesn’t have to face extraordinary pressure due to the Bill.
• The Bill does not automatically convert these communities into the citizen of India. It only makes them eligible. The government reserves the right to investigate whether the person is eligible to be the citizen of India or not based on other provisions of the Bill.

Arunachal Pradesh as a state has been provided with a number of safeguards to ensure the protection of indigenous people rights and culture. The state does not share a boundary with the countries mentioned in the Bill. Apart from that, to enter into Arunachal Pradesh one needs a travel document issued by the government called as the Inner Line Permit. The people of the state should understand in a democratic setup its is the political process which determines the distribution of resources. Since all the constituency of Arunachal Pradesh is reserved for people from their own tribe, the impact that an outsider population can create is farfetched.

Above all I have an appeal to the general populace that all boundaries are man-made. It’s a well know fact the tribes living in North-east or as a matter of fact entire India have migrated to that place years ago. If we accept fellow countrymen as one we’ll be able to ride against the tide of intolerance that is being created by people with vested interest using misinformation campaigns.

I appeal to the readers of this article to share their opinion with me on the Citizenship Amendment Bill.