Illegal Immigration — Legal Reforms

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
Citizenship Amendment Act	2019	Amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, to provide accelerated citizenship to persecuted minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians) from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014. The amendment reduces the naturalization period from 11 years to 5 years for these communities.	Created a religion-based criterion for citizenship, generating widespread protests and constitutional challenges. While aimed at protecting persecuted minorities, the exclusion of Muslims has raised concerns about violation of Article 14 (equality before law). The Act remains under Supreme Court review and has significant implications for India's secular constitutional framework and approach to illegal immigration.