The Citizenship Amendment Act is just another example of how Muslims are being marginalized in India.

This bill, which was first discussed in parliament in the summer of 2016, gives individuals from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who practice Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsee, or Christianity the ability to migrate to India and obtain citizenship legally.

In order to be eligible for citizenship in the country, the only qualification is that they must work or live in India for six years after relocating. This act passed the lower house and eventually the upper house of parliament within a matter of a few days.

This bill is controversial because of its notions of unconstitutionality in India; although it is known that faith cannot be conditional on personal religious beliefs, the government somehow still passed the bill without including a clause that regarded the lives of Muslim populations in these countries and other nations such as Pakistan and Myanmar.

The implementation of the CAA has caused an amass of protests in the north-eastern region of the country that borders Bangladesh, as many critics say that the bill encourages Prime Minister Modi’s Hindutva ideologies which view Muslims as a threat to the state. While the government insists that this act will help protect minorities, it is evident that the BJP continues to use legislative power to further neglect the Muslim population in and around India.