CAA

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide an expedited pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities—specifically Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

• It tests the constitutional doctrine of reasonable classification under the Article 14 right to equality.
• It intersects with federal arrangements by explicitly exempting tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule and regions governed by the Inner Line Permit framework.
• It highlights the legal and policy distinctions in India's handling of stateless persons and refugees despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

UPSC approaches this topic through constitutional law and administrative governance rather than political debate. Questions typically focus on the interplay between legislative competence over citizenship under Entry 17 of the Union List and constitutional protections for indigenous identity in the North-Eastern states. Candidates are expected to analyze the statute alongside mechanisms like the Assam Accord, the National Register of Citizens, and international non-refoulement principles.

• Indian Constitution GS2
• India and its neighborhood: relations GS2

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