First Citizenship Certificates Issued Under CAA

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the first set of citizenship certificates were issued on Wednesday. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over citizenship certificates to 14 applicants in New Delhi. This follows the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules earlier this year.

The ministry stated that the certificates were “physically handed over to 14 applicants in Delhi" and that "digitally signed certificates are being issued to many other applicants via email." The Empowered Committee, Delhi, led by the Director of Census Operations, granted these certificates after thorough scrutiny.

Home Secretary Bhalla congratulated the recipients and highlighted key aspects of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. One recipient, Bharat, who migrated from Pakistan, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi, stating, “I feel like I got a new life.” Another recipient, Yashoda, also from Pakistan, has been in India since 2013. She emphasized how citizenship would improve her family’s future, particularly her children's education.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, enacted in December 2019, aim to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived before December 31, 2014. The rules were finally issued in March 2024 after a four-year delay, leading to applications from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities.

The introduction of the CAA in 2019 triggered widespread protests, particularly from critics and Muslim groups, who feared the law would marginalize Muslims. Despite these concerns, political leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, assured that the law would not cause any inconvenience and that all citizens would be respected.