UP Begins Process of Identifying Migrants Before CAA Enforcement

Rules for operationalising CAA haven’t been framed, yet UP government is already collecting information.

Amidst widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Uttar Pradesh government is collecting information about refugees.

(Photo: The Quint)

There are widespread protests across the country against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the rules for operationalising the Act haven’t been framed yet. However, the Uttar Pradesh government is already collecting information about refugees and migrants.

Information about 40,000 refugees from more than 15 districts has been provided to the government, said a senior official to The Indian Express.

Authorities told the publication that once the process for citizenship begins, the district authorities would start the verification process.

How Does the ‘Process’ Work?

As per the media report, the authorities have been asked to seek detailed information,

• from Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who have entered India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before 31 December 2014
• The person should have stayed in India for the last one year
• He should have resided in the country for five of the last 14 years
• Details such as father’s name, address, mobile number, date of arrival in India, the country of origin needs to be furnished by every individual

Around 95,000 refugees have been identified in Pilibhit district, of which 37,000 do not have citizenship, said Pilibhit District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava to The Indian Express.

The Hapur administrative authorities sent a list of 120 families who entered Kolkata in 1952 from East Pakistan. These citizens have Aadhaar cards and PAN cards now, said the media report.

Authorities clarified that this is a preliminary survey and that the identification process has not started yet.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)