NPR, NRC & CAA for Indian Expats in Saudi Arabia

What is NPR?

The National Population Register (NPR) is a database of the identities of all Indian residents

It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR. A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.

The NPR would basically cover the Demographic Particulars of every individual of the country, related to;

1. Nationality (as declared)
2. Name of person
3. Date of Birth
4. Place of birth
5. Mother’s name
6. Father’s name
7. Sex
8. Marital status
9. Spouse’s name (if married)
10. Permanent residential address
11. Educational qualification
12. Occupation/Activity
13. Duration of stay at present address
14. Present address of usual residence
15. Relationship to head of household

What is NRC?

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. At present, only Assam has such a register.

The exercise may be extended to other states as well. Nagaland is already creating a similar database known as the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants. The Centre is planning to create a National Population Register (NPR), which will contain demographic and biometric details of citizens.

ow does one prove citizenship?

In Assam, one of the basic criteria was that the names of applicant’s family members should either be in the first NRC prepared in 1951 or in the electoral rolls up to March 24, 1971.

Other than that, applicants also had the option to present documents such as refugee registration certificate, birth certificate, LIC policy, land and tenancy records, citizenship certificate, passport, government issued licence or certificate, bank/post office accounts, permanent residential certificate, government employment certificate, educational certificate and court records.

What is the CAA? What is Citizenship Amendment Act 2019?

According to the CAA, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and Parsi migrants who have entered India illegally-that is, without a visa-on or before December 31, 2014 from the Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and have stayed in the country for five years, are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.

Why is the provision extended only to people of six religions, and not Muslims, and why does it apply only to people coming from these three countries?

The Union government claims that people of these six faiths have faced persecution in these three Islamic countries, Muslims haven’t. It is, therefore, India’s moral obligation to provide them shelter.