The Origin, History and Legality of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

In recent times, India witnessed protests almost across every corner against an enactment which is said to be discriminatory and violative of the Indian Constitution, while it seeks to accommodate the religiously persecuted minorities, provided that the refugees fit within certain classifications. While the protesters claim that the act is violative of the constitution of India, the state claims otherwise. However, even before this enactment, policies dealing with the concerned countries were proceeding in the background on religious lines, which seems to be ultimately aimed by India to accommodate all communities but Muslims. Similar provisions were also enacted after partition, and the steady amendments made in the concerned laws, has finally resulted into the express enactment of this statute. Through this paper, keeping in view its origin and history, the legality of this enactment has been tested, which the amendment and its connected provisos seem to violate. By the end, the readers would be able to clutch the perception that debate of the natural right of Hindus to be given Indian citizenship has surrounded Indian politics since partition and now, it could be a prelude to shred citizenship millions of Muslims, merely because they could not prove their citizenship documentarily.