Following the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the central government, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi, President of All India Muslim Jamaat, expressed his approval of the legislation. Seeking to dispel concerns within the Muslim community, he asserted that the CAA would not affect the citizenship status of Indian Muslims. Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi stated, “The Govt of India has implemented the CAA law. I welcome this law. This should have been done much earlier but better late than never… There are a lot of misunderstandings among the Muslims regarding this law. This law has nothing to do with Muslims.” He emphasized that the law was designed to offer citizenship to non-Muslims facing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
भारत सरकार द्वारा CAA क़ानून को लागू किये जाने पर हम स्वागत करते हैं और भारत का हर मुसलमान इसका स्वागत करें, मुसलमान न घबराएं, ये नागरिकता देता है न की छिनता है, इससे मुसलमानों का कोई लेना-देना नहीं। @PMOIndia @rashtrapatibhvn#BigBreaking #CAA #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/NLuToI82FM
— Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi (@Shahabuddinbrly) March 11, 2024
He further reassured, “Crores of Indian Muslims will not be affected by this law at all… This law is not going to take away the citizenship of any Muslim.” Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Bareilvi attributed past protests to misunderstandings created by some political figures and called upon all Indian Muslims to welcome the CAA.
Moreover, refugees residing on the borders have expressed their joy and gratitude to the Prime Minister for this initiative. A viral video on X captures their happiness following the announcement of the implementation of the CAA.
#WATCH | Rajasthan: Pakistani refugees in Jodhpur celebrate after the Centre notified the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act. pic.twitter.com/zAvyHJ2ooO
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2024
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier clarified that the CAA aimed to provide citizenship and not strip anyone of their citizenship. The rules for implementing the CAA were notified by the Union Home Ministry on Monday. The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government in 2019, grants Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
The application process for citizenship under the CAA will be conducted online through a designated web portal. The passage of the CAA in 2019 led to significant protests across the country, and the implementation was delayed, requiring the formulation of associated rules. Since 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sought extensions from parliamentary committees to continue framing the rules.
Over the past two years, district magistrates and home secretaries in nine states have been authorized to confer Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs annual report for 2021-22, between April 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, 1,414 individuals from non-Muslim minority communities were granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Act provides citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from the mentioned countries in nine states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra.