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Non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh in 13 districts can now apply for Indian citizenship

New Delhi - The order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette and shall remain valid until further orders.

The Indian government on Friday invited Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and other minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and living in 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship.

The union home ministry issued a notification for immediate implementation of the order under the Citizenship Act 1955 and rules framed under the law in 2009. However, it is not connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CCA), 2019, whose rules are still to be framed by the government.

Citizenship will be given to non-Muslim persecuted minorities from those countries who had come to India till December 31, 2014, the notification said. It also said that “the order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette and shall remain valid until further orders.”

After the government enacted the CAA in 2019, there were protests across the country and riots broke out in Delhi in early 2020. The 13 districts include Morbi, Rajkot, Patan and Vadodara in Gujarat; Jalore, Udaipur, Pali, Barmer and Sirohi in Rajasthan; Durg and Balodabazar in Chhattisgarh; Faridabad in Haryana; and Jalandhar in Punjab.