On April 2, 2025, the Rajya Sabha buzzed with a revelation that stirred both hope and curiosity. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai stood before the house and declared that “thousands” have been granted citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), a law that’s been a lightning rod of debate since its inception. While the minister didn’t pin down an exact number, his words painted a vivid picture of a policy in motion—one that’s quietly reshaping lives across India.
In This Article:
A Promise Kept, A Door Opened
The CAA, passed in 2019 and brought to life with rules notified on March 11, 2024, isn’t just legislation—it’s a lifeline. Designed to fast-track citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, it targets Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who fled to India before December 31, 2014. For these communities, the act is more than a legal tweak; it’s a promise of belonging after years—sometimes decades—of limbo.
Rai’s announcement came during a fiery debate on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, a separate piece of legislation passed by the Lok Sabha the previous week. Responding to Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev’s claim that only 350 people had received citizenship under the CAA, Rai countered with a broader stroke: “Thousands have been granted citizenship.” His refusal to specify a figure left room for speculation, but it also underscored a key point—the process is rolling, and it’s touching lives on a scale that’s hard to ignore.
From Persecution to Protection
Picture this: a family fleeing religious violence in Bangladesh, crossing borders with little more than hope, or a Hindu refugee from Pakistan living in India for years without a legal identity. For these people, the CAA isn’t abstract policy—it’s the key to a ration card, an Aadhaar number, a vote, a future. Since the rules kicked in last year, the government has been chipping away at a backlog of applications, turning stateless shadows into citizens.
Take Sumitra Prasad, for instance. In January 2025, she became the first in Bihar to gain citizenship under the CAA after 40 years in Ara, a city she’d made home since fleeing Bangladesh as a child. Her story—raising three daughters, losing her husband, and battling bureaucracy—mirrors countless others now stepping into the light of legal recognition. Across states like Assam, Goa, and beyond, the numbers are climbing, even if the exact tally remains a mystery for now.
The Numbers Game: Why the Silence?
Rai’s vagueness wasn’t lost on the opposition. Sushmita Dev’s figure of 350 came from earlier reports—perhaps a snapshot of initial approvals—while Rai’s “thousands” hinted at a much larger wave. Why no hard data? Some see it as strategic—a way to keep the focus on the policy’s intent rather than fuel a numbers war. Others wonder if the government’s still tallying the full scope, given the decentralized process involving district committees and state-level panels.
What we do know is this: by May 2024, the first batch of 14 certificates was issued, a symbolic start. Since then, the pace has quickened. In Assam, where only two had been granted citizenship by March 2025, the trickle suggests a cautious rollout in a state sensitive to migration issues. In Goa, 73 applications over a decade hint at a broader pool now being processed faster under the CAA. Rai’s “thousands” could span these states and more, a quiet revolution unfolding one certificate at a time.
A Debate That Won’t Fade
The CAA has never been short of critics. Opponents call it discriminatory, pointing to its exclusion of Muslims from the same countries—a deliberate carve-out that’s sparked protests and legal challenges. The Supreme Court’s October 2024 ruling upholding Section 6A of the Citizenship Act (a related Assam-specific provision) only fanned the flames, framing citizenship as a balancing act between inclusion and identity. Rai, though, stood firm, echoing Home Minister Amit Shah’s earlier assurances: this isn’t about taking away rights; it’s about giving them to those who’ve suffered for their faith.
In the Rajya Sabha, the minister’s words were a rebuttal to those who’d painted the CAA as a hollow promise. “This is about justice,” he seemed to say, “not politics.” Yet, the opposition wasn’t convinced, with some accusing the government of dodging transparency. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the messy middle—between the triumph of new citizens and the questions that linger.
A New Chapter for Thousands
For the everyday reader, Rai’s announcement isn’t about parliamentary sparring—it’s about people. It’s the Sikh family in Delhi’s Tilak Nagar finally enrolling their kids in school without fear. It’s the Parsi elder in Gujarat voting for the first time in decades. It’s Sumitra’s daughters in Bihar dreaming bigger, armed with documents that prove they belong. “Thousands” isn’t just a statistic; it’s thousands of stories, each a thread in India’s ever-evolving tapestry.
As April 2, 2025, fades into the rearview, the CAA remains a work in progress—a policy that’s divisive yet transformative. Minister Rai didn’t give us a number to pin on a chart, but he gave us something else: a glimpse of a nation keeping a promise, one citizen at a time. For those thousands, that’s more than enough—it’s everything.
-By Manoj H
