1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov December 18, 2019Changes to Indias Citizenship LawsIn December 2019, Indias Parliament passed, and its President signed into law, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, altering the countrys 1955 Citizenship Act. For the first time in independent Indias history, a
2、 religious criterion has been added to the countrys naturalization process. The changes sparked significant controversy, including large-scale and sometimes violent protests. Opponents of the CAA warn that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are pursui
3、ng a Hindu majoritarian, anti-Muslim agenda that threatens Indias status as an officially secular republic and violates international human rights norms. In tandem with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) planned by the federal government, the CAA may affect the status of Indias large Muslim minor
4、ity of roughly 200 million. Context: Indias Hindu Nationalist Government Indias population of more than 1.3 billion includes a Hindu majority of about 80%, as well as a large Muslim minority of above 14% (see Figure 1). Prime Minister Modi, a self-avowed Hindu nationalist, took office in 2014 after