‘CAA explicitly excludes Muslims’: U.S. commission on religious freedom raises concern over notification of rules

USCIRF expresses concern over India's Citizenship Amendment Act, highlighting religious discrimination in granting citizenship, sparking debates and protests.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has voiced concern over the Central Government’s notification of rules to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), saying no one should be denied citizenship based on religion or belief.

Rules for implementation of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) were notified earlier this month, paving the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

“The problematic CAA establishes a religious requirement for asylum seekers in India fleeing neighbouring countries,” USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck said in a statement Monday.

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Mr. Schneck said that while CAA provides a fast track to citizenship for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians, the law explicitly excludes Muslims.

While critics have questioned the government over the exclusion of Muslims from the Act, India has strongly defended its move.

"The CAA is about giving citizenship, not about taking away citizenship. It addresses the issue of statelessness, provides human dignity and supports human rights," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Radhir Jaiswal said recently, asserting that the law is an internal matter of India.