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Bhubaneswar: With the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 stirring up the nation vigorously, post the legislation being vetted by Lok Sabha and when the bill has been tabled today for voting in Rajya Sabha, it's the precise moment to take a glance at the bill and its impact on Odisha.
As per the bill passed by the Lok Sabha, the Modi government has inserted a new provision in Citizenship Act 1955. The new provision states that persons belonging to minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, residing in the country prior to December 31, 2014 will not be designated as illegal immigrants, and they will be granted citizenship of India.
In simple, the CAB 2019 has removed the tag of illegal immigrants on Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who migrated to India in large numbers following religious persecution there.
It needs mentioning here that the country has seen influx of migrants post partition and at times thereafter. The migrants constituted both - ones who faced persecution in the name of religion and the other who migrated to India in pursuit of a greener pasture (mostly Muslims from Bangladesh).
The CAB-2019 has been introduced to effect a nuanced approach to the issue of migration into India. Post the passage in both houses of Parliament, migrants settled here, who were driven out from their home country due to religious persecution, will not be called as illegal migrants; whereas migrants from neighbouring countries who have come here for greener pastures will be called as illegal migrants.
It is this nuanced approach of Modi government, which was opposed by some political parties like Congress, its allies, Left parties and TMC. The arguments put forth by the parties are the amendment is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution that guarantees Right to equality.
The reality is Article 14 talks about citizens of India, the Citizenship Amendment Bill-2019 talks about citizens of other countries who have migrated to the country without following the due procedure of applying for the citizenship of India.
Since the ruling BJD has supported the Bill, how the amended legislation will then pan out on Odisha?
As per the Census 2011, which in the only reliable data available till date, the total head count of foreign migrants residing in Odisha has been estimated at 73,609. A massive chunk of 78 per cent of the foreign migrant population in Odisha are residing in rural areas, reveals the data.
The significant mention here is the largest chunk of foreign migrants (Hindus & Muslims) dwelling in Odisha belong to Bangladesh. The headcount in 2011 stood at 23, 824, of which 21,025 were residing in rural Odisha.
Similarly, a total of 1,114 migrants from Pakistan have been residing in Odisha, disclosed the Census 2011 data. A total of 572 were residing in rural areas of the State.
The Census 2011 further reveals that while a high of 20,467 migrants from Bangladesh have been residing in Odisha since over last two decades, a total of 502 from Pakistan (mostly Hindus & Sikhs) have been staying so in the State for over two decades.
The time of settlement is unclear in case of 113 Pak and 1,848 Bangladesh migrants to Odisha.
What is the next step for Odisha? Since both BJP and BJD have evinced interest in implementing National Register of Citizens (NRC), post passage of the bill, it becomes imperative for Odisha to implement NRC to weed out the illegal migrants (means people who migrated here for greener pasture, not out of persecution). Or else the CAB-2019 will be meaningless for Odisha.
