Indian citizens do not have to prove ancestry dating back to pre-1971: MHA quells all falsehoods about the Citizenship Amendment Act

Since the time the Citizenship Amendment Act has come into existence the leftist lobby have been fearmongering by spinning a web of lies around the amendment. The lobbyists have been falsely spreading that the Indian government will soon ask its 870 million voting-age citizens for documentation that they are legal citizens with ancestral ties to India.

Today, quelling all the rumours and the series of lies being spun around it, the Ministry of Home Affairs in a series of Tweets cleared that Indian citizens do not have to prove any ancestry by presenting documents like identity cards, birth certificates etc. of parents or grandparents dating back to the pre-1971 situation.

https://twitter.com/PIBHomeAffairs/status/1208014072538525696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
MHA in clear words restated that “the CAA does NOT apply to Indian citizens. They are completely unaffected by it”, while also clearing that “the CAA does not target any religious community from abroad. It only provides a mechanism for some migrants who may otherwise have been called “illegal” depriving them of opportunity to apply for Indian citizenship provided they meet certain conditions”.

https://twitter.com/PIBHomeAffairs/status/1207304325606690817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It also cleared people’s qualms surrounding the law as it said that in the past too, on different occasions, special provisions have been made by Government to accommodate the citizenship of foreigners who had to flee to India. This the MHA particularised by giving an example of how 4.61 lakh Tamils of Indian origin were given Indian citizenship during 1964-2008.

https://twitter.com/PIBHomeAffairs/status/1207304263946268677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
MHA spokesperson further announced that the citizenship of India may be proved by giving any document relating to the date of birth or place of birth or both. Such a list is likely to include a lot of common documents to ensure that no Indian citizen is unduly harassed or put to inconvenience.

https://twitter.com/PIBHomeAffairs/status/1208014066456743941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Coming as a major disappointment for the leftist brigade who have been working overtime to spread misinformation on the Citizenship Law, the ministry furthered those illiterate citizens without any document may be allowed by authorities to prove their citizenship.

Read- No right to question India when its own closet is brimming with skeletons: Here is why USCIRF should back off on CAA

“Illiterate citizens, who may not have any documents, authorities may allow them to produce witnesses or local proofs supported by members of the community. A well laid out procedure will be followed,” said the MHA.

https://twitter.com/PIBHomeAffairs/status/1208014076158234624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It also restated that the new Citizenship Act protects the interests of the tribals and indigenous people of North East by excluding areas under 6th Schedule and areas covered by Inner Line Permit.  Therefore, there is no question of any influx of foreigners swamping the indigenous population.

https://twitter.com/PIBHomeAffairs/status/1207304478547775489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The government has time and again reassured that the new law does not apply to Indian citizens and thus they are unaffected by it. However, the leftist media, celebrities, political parties and rabid Islamic organisations have been constantly falsifying the law by maintaining that is against the secular nature of the Indian Constitution and clubbed with the NRC it may be misused to strip away some Muslims’ citizenship in the country.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia