https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/et-explains/is-a-p...
Anyone who is not able to prove their citizenship will naturally be declared illegal immigrant and then have an option to apply for citizenship depending on their religion. This applies to anyone who IS NOT a Muslim.
Millions of poor and illiterate people in India have no documentation proving their citizenship, let alone documents going back decades proving that their ancestors were Indians. We all know how the route of detention camps go when the number of detainees goes up to millions.
This essentially is 'stripping citizenship`.
The government is essentially saying this: "We are not doing wrong right now. So bear with us. After CAB debacle is done, NRC comes in and the government will again say: "We are not doing anything wrong right now too. You just have to follow the laws already passed and PROVE YOUR CITIZENSHIP"
Why do I need to prove my citizenship at the whim and fancy of government. What is the purpose of this exercise? This exercise in a small state of Assam cost government coffers around 2000 crores. Add to this the cost citizens had to bear in gathering documentary proofs of their forefathers from land revenue offices, the affidavits, court and legal fees, the time and energy spent and the fear of being thrown into a detention centre - a no mans land.
Is this all normal?
In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.
-Anatole France
The government, over the last few years, has subjected many of its citizens to a bureaucratic nightmare to prove their citizenship. In many cases, all it takes to be declared a foreigner is for a neighbor to file an "objection" letter, which amounts to nothing more than an accusation. From there, the onus is on you to prove your own nationality to the nightmare that is India's legal system.
Under India's new citizenship law, Hindus (and members of most other religions) swept up into this mess can simply petition for citizenship. Conveniently for the current government, Muslims cannot.
This is what happens if you elect bombastic incapable governments. The government doesn't realize that by their own logic they aren't elected by citizens anymore. By their own logic, they need to hold elections again I guess.
The BBC had a good story about this recently: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50757093
That's a really disingenuous way of putting it, as I think you know.
Several million people who have lived in India for generations in some cases, who have never been offered or asked for citizenship papers, have suddenly been declared illegal. To prove their citizenship they need to provide documents that were rarely ever created in rural India. This is hardly just sweeping up random migrants.
> The protests that are happening in the eastern part of India is against giving citizenship to illegal immigrants.
That may be true in the east, but the largest and most vocal protests are in the opposite direction.