Amit Shah to distribute 151 citizenship certificates under CAA in Gujarat

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will distribute 151 citizenship certificates in Gujarat on August 18. 
The Government of Gujarat will organise a special ceremony on this date for the distribution of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) certificates.

The CAA was enacted in December 2019 to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.

After the enactment, the CAA got the president’s assent but the rules under which the Indian citizenship was granted were issued only on March 11 this year after over four years delay.

Also Read: First CAA citizenship granted in Assam to Bangladesh-origin Hindu

Earlier a Silchar resident in Assam, Dulon Das has become the first person in Assam to receive Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). 

The Union Home Ministry notified Das of his successful application on August 13, 2024, at 3:41 pm.

Das, 50, applied for citizenship on April 1, 2024, with the registration number 202400800772. His family migrated to Silchar from Bangladesh's Sylhet region in 1988 due to repeated attacks. 
Despite living in India for over three decades, Das and his family were unable to establish their citizenship through the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.

Das's lawyer, Dharmananda Deb, a former member of Foreigners Tribunal-4 in Silchar, revealed that eight people have applied for citizenship under CAA across Assam, with two withdrawing their applications. Six applications, including Das's, were under review by the Home Ministry.