CAA citizenship: What is the truth?
A low down on what's happened in Goa during the past week including Goa's first CAA beneficiary, a HC judgement reinstating a 'stateless' Goan girl's passport and much more.
Hi folks,
September is upon us, and that means that this newsletter has now completed three months—not the biggest milestone you could imagine, but significant nonetheless, especially given the doubts I had before taking the plunge. So, before I begin, I thought I’d take a moment to say thanks to all those who have signed up and have stuck around week in and week out. And if you like what you are reading, make sure you spread the word in whatever way you can.
As always, this week too, I have lots to dissect, so let’s get right to it.
CAA beneficiary: What's the real story?
It was the week during which Joseph Pereira became the first Goan to receive benefits under the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.
And the local government was quick to tomtom the ‘leadership’ shown by “the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendar Modi and Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah” in enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that enabled Pereira to be granted Indian citizenship.
Understandably, Pereira was elated. But what’s his story? And how much of the government’s claims are true?
Firstly, news that Pereira was granted Indian citizenship is indeed good news. A person of Goan origin, he was raised in Pakistan’s Karachi after his family moved there at a time when Karachi was an important port city in British India and stayed on after the creation of Pakistan.
It was a route taken by many Goans during the first half of the 20th century. Unfortunately for them, at the time of partition, they remained on the wrong side of the border, even though for a while travelling back to their homeland wasn’t an issue, after relations between the two postcolonial states deteriorated, it became next to impossible.
Nonetheless, back to Pereira’s story. After being raised in Karachi, he moved to Bahrain in 1978, where he lived and worked until he retired in 2013. During that period, he also married a Goan woman, who joined him in Bahrain. Pereira moved back to India in 2013 after retirement and has been living in Cansaulim along with his wife since then. Being married to an Indian certainly helped him get a visa to return to India.
Pereira was the lone applicant from Goa for citizenship under the newly amended Citizenship Amendment Act and not without reason. It is beneficial to only a narrow set of people. To be eligible for citizenship, you will need to have ‘entered’ India before December 31, 2014.
Pereira was fortunate to have met the criteria since he retired in 2013 and decided to leave Bahrain behind and return to Goa. He, however, continued to have to report to the regional FRRO once a year to have his stay extended, and to that extent, his newly minted citizenship makes his life that much easier.
But the bigger picture is that none of this needed the CAA in the first place. By 2024, Pereira will have completed 11 years of residence in India, making him eligible for citizenship by naturalisation. Even without the CAA, he was eligible for citizenship, that it wasn’t done despite him applying, is another matter altogether.
India has been and continues to process citizenship applications from foreigners living in India, including those who previously held Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizenship even without the CAA. No doubt they are quite difficult to process, but there was no legal impediment that the CAA has solved—it always was only a question of intent.
Further, his case also highlights the discriminatory nature of the CAA. If instead of Pereira, who is Christian, had a Muslim of Goan origin who had the exact same circumstances, would he have been eligible for Indian citizenship? The answer to that question is quite firmly no. Which was and continues to be the main bone of contention of the CAA—that it violates the principle of equality as enshrined in the constitution.
Further, the bigger issue remains unaddressed. If the Indian government cared so much about expat communities in Pakistan and Bangladesh, why isn’t it easier for people of Goan origin who either hold Pakistani citizenship or who were born in what is now Pakistan and have since accepted citizenship of other countries like Canada, USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand to apply for visas to visit Goa?
If you mention your place of birth as Karachi, your visa is automatically rejected, which means many simply lie about their place of birth or are prepared to face rejection.
Real victory will come from a change of attitude, not from celebrating a lone citizen whose application could have been allowed, CAA or no CAA.
High Court reinstates Goan girl’s citizenship
Here’s a story that might be of interest to those grappling with passport and OCI issues, especially for their kids.
The Bombay High Court at Goa has ordered the Indian High Commission in the UK to renew the Indian passport of a minor girl born in Goa, whose mother acquired Portuguese citizenship while quashing the order of the High Commissioner declining to renew her passport.
The High Court said that the High Commissioner was not empowered to render the child'stateless’.
The 16-year-old girl was born in Goa to Indian parents in 2007. In 2014, she was issued an Indian passport, which expired in 2019. In 2015, her mother applied for Portuguese citizenship and consequently ceased to be a citizen of India. The girl’s parents also separated, and a formal decree of divorce was granted in 2019.
However, when it came to renewal of her passport, the Indian High Commission rejected the application on grounds that since the “petitioner’s mother has acquired foreign nationality and as she is a single parent of the minor child whose physical custody is with her, the petitioner is not eligible for [an] Indian passport.” The Government of India defended the decision, referring to provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Passports Act 1964 as well as particularly pointing to an office memorandum issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in July this year, clause 4 of which stated that in the case of divorced or separated parents, “the citizenship of [the] minor shall be of that parent who has the legal custody of that minor child.”
However, the High Court didn’t agree with the contention. It’s almost as if on one hand, they celebrate a citizen getting Indian citizenship, while on the other, they are all too eager to take it away.
Read the full order here: Writ Petition No. 135/2024 on the Bombay High Court at Goa website.
Disturbing deaths
This was also a week in which I witnessed three disturbing suicides. A taxi driver from one of the villages surrounding Mopa, a 60-year-old advocate from Margao, and a budding police constable.
One should desist from jumping to quick conclusions, especially when it comes to death by suicide, yet I suggest you read this piece on 99Goa’s Substack, where the anonymous author tries to break down what the back to back deaths say about Goa. And if you like the newletter do subscribe to it.
There was also the tragedy of a pet Pitbull dog attacking and killing a seven-year-old boy at Anjuna, whose mother used to work as a maid at the dog’s owner’s home, renewing calls for action against owning ferocious dog breeds. The dog’s owner has been arrested.
A new train between Mumbai-Goa
And finally some good news for those travelling between Mumbai and Goa.
The Railways have launched a new biweekly train between Bandra and Margao, thereby bringing direct connectivity between Mumbai’s western suburbs and Konkan and Goa. Prior to this, all Goa-bound trains used to run on the central line commencing from CSMT.
This new train brings with it the advantage of being able to board a train to Goa directly from popular stations like Bandra and Borivali. On the other hand, however, it’s not a very convenient train. For one, it includes an (at least) 25-minute halt at Vasai Road, where the direction of the train changes. Therefore, the overall journey of the train will take between 12 and 16 hours, as opposed to the 10 and 12 hours of other regular express trains. Secondly, it leaves Mumbai at 6:50 am, meaning at this time, there are several other options that will get you to Goa faster.
P. S. I know that hill cutting has been a major issue that has occupied headlines in Goa this week, but given that it’s an ongoing issue and continues to develop, it deserves more time to cook. Watch out for a detailed explainer soon.
That’s all I have for you this week. If you have any feedback, feel free to write to me and do not hesitate to comment and share.
Very informative and perceptive round up of Goa happenings
Hello Sir ! Thanks so very much for the honourable mention in the dispatch.