The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act of India, 2019 that grants citizenship on the basis of religion came into force on Friday.

In a gazette notification, the Union home ministry said the act under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central government hereby appoints the 10th day of January, 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” the notification said.

The CAA was passed by parliament on December 11 last year.

Inidian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have on several occasions underlined that it only provides a refuge to the six communities who have faced religious persecution in the three countries mentioned above.

Source: Hindustan Times