CAA Teaser? In 2018, RBI Gave Property Buying Rights to ‘Persecuted Minorities’, Except Muslims

New Delhi: Through a notification issued in March 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had allowed the individuals belonging to non-Muslim minority communities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to buy immovable property in India. These are the same set of minority communities from the same countries who have now been granted Indian citizenship under the recently amended Citizenship Act (CAA).

“A person being a citizen of Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, belonging to minority communities in those countries, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who is residing in India and has been granted a Long Term Visa (LTV) by the Central government may purchase only one residential immovable property in India as dwelling unit for self-occupation and only one immovable property for carrying out self-employment,” says the RBI notification, issued on March 26 of 2018.

According to a report published in The Hindu, since the guidelines were issued under the foreign exchange management (FEMA) regulations, these were issued after consultation with the government.

Subsequently in 2018, country’s central bank allowed same set of non-Muslim minority communities (Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists, Christians, Jains) from two neighbouring countries – Bangladesh and Pakistan – who were residing in India and had applied for a Long Term Visa to open an Non Resident Ordinary (NRO) account, as per the same report, helping them to manage their incomes earned in India.

This report is significant in the backdrop of widespread protests that have engulfed the country against the “unconstitutional” CAA which seems to be targeting one community. The RBI, by excluding the Muslims in its two decisions, seems to have followed the same line a year ago.

The Hindu report quoted a source as saying that the RBI was not aware of the government’s intention as when the circular was issued, the NRC (National Register of Citizens or CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) were “nowhere in the horizon.”

However, while the RBI notification was issued in 2018, the first attempt to pass the CAB by the Narendra Modi–led Bharatiya Janata Party Government was made back in 2016, when it was introduced for the first time in the Lok Sabha. Similarly, following Supreme Court directions in 2013, the exercise of updating the NRC in Assam began in 2015 and the first draft was published in 2017.

The idea to extend the process to the entire country was made only in November this year by Home Minister Amit Shah during the parliamentary session.

Newsclick contacted three former RBI Governors -- Bimal Jalan, C. Rangarajan and Y. Venugopal Reddy – to seek their views on the issue, but all three declined to comment.