Man who arrived in 1988 from Bangladesh becomes first person in Assam to get citizenship under CAA
Assamese nationalist groups have criticised the move, accusing BJP of pandering to illegal immigrants.
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A 50-year-old man who illegally entered India in 1988 from Bangladesh has become the first person in Assam to be accorded citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
Dulon Das, a resident of Assam’s Cachar district, came to India in 1988 reportedly fleeing religious persecution in Bangladesh, his lawyer said.
A driver by profession who lives with his wife, their two children and one brother in Silchar town, Das was granted citizenship on Tuesday.
The rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act were notified in March, more than four years after the contentious law was passed in Parliament by the Narendra Modi government.
The legislation offers undocumented migrants from six religions from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan a fast track to Indian citizenship, provided they had entered the country before December 31, 2014. Muslims are barred from this route.
The act, which critics say discriminates against Muslims, had triggered a wave of protests across the country.
The law also revised the terms of the Assam Accord, which held that in order to be an Indian citizen in Assam, one has to have lived in the state before midnight of March 24, 1971, or be a descendant of those who did.
In Assam, the Citizenship Amendment Act triggered fierce protests as it sharpened the anxiety among the...
