Doubts About Citizenship Bill? Here Are 7 Myths Busted

No, the Citizenship Bill doesn’t affect status of those who are already citizens of India. Here are the facts.

Since nobody reads legislation anymore (even lawyers apparently), here's my attempt at dispelling a few myths on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) on the basis of certain social media posts I have been seeing:

• This bill applies only to ‘illegal migrants’ who meet all four criteria: a) non-Muslims, b) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan; c) who came to India prior to 31 December 2014, and d) who enjoy the benefit of the waiver of Foreigners Act and Passports Act.
• The Bill does not prohibit Muslims from all countries from becoming registered or naturalised citizens of India. The legal process by which say, Adnan Sami became a citizen of India, is still there in Section 7 of the Citizenship Act.