Friday was a special day in the lives of 90 Hindu migrants from Pakistan living in India for the past several years. These migrants, who had come to India to escape atrocities back home, were granted Indian citizenship certificates at a special function at the Ahmedabad district collectorate on Friday.
District collector Vikrant Pandey and other officials handed over the citizenship certificates to the 90 migrants, some of who are living in India for as long as 35 years, under the Citizenship Act of 1955. Some of the migrants got misty-eyed while receiving the citizenship certificate that they were waiting for for so long. Some of them had applied for receiving Indian citizenship over two decades ago.
Twenty of the 90 new Indian citizens are minors, said an official. Collector Vikrant Pandey welcomed and congratulated the new Indian citizens, and said that they would now be able to avail of government services at par with others. He also said more eligible migrants would be granted citizenship soon.
“About 150-200 applications from Hindu migrants from Pakistan are pending with us. We expect to be able to grant citizenship certificates to the remaining applicants within the next six months once all the formalities are completed,” Pandey said.
Earlier, the powers to grant citizenship to minority migrants lay with union home ministry. However, in a notification dated December 23, 2016, the government decentralised the process and authorised district collectors to issue citizenship certificates to migrants from religious minorities such as Hindus, and Sikhs, among others, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
In Gujarat, the government had authorised collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Kutch to grant citizenship certificates to eligible migrants living in the state.
“Ahmedabad district tops in the country by granting citizenship certificates to 320 minority migrants since the process was decentralised and simplified one-and-a-half years ago. We will process pending applications soon,” Pandey said.
Almost 90% of the migrants who have been granted Indian citizenship in this period are from Pakistan, and the remaining from Bangladesh. Rajesh Maheshwari, secretary of Sindh Minority Migrants Association, lauded the administration but demanded that powers to grant citizenship to collectors be extended for two more years till December 22, 2020, so that maximum number of migrants can benefit.
‘PROUD, HAPPY MOMENT FOR US’
Bharat Khatwani
Now 40, Khatwani owned a superstore in Karachi but moved because of law & order problems and targeting of Hindus in the country. He came to India on a long-term visa in 2009 and settled in Ahmedabad. He now runs an electronics shop in the city. “Being granted Indian citizenship is a proud moment for us. We had to hide our identity as a Pakistani, and also faced difficulty in getting a home or shop. Those things should now be behind us,” Khatwani said. His wife is also eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
Nanakmal Chandwani
Chandwani, who ran a grocery shop in Badin district in Sindh before he came to India ten years ago in view of several hardships back home, said that he was feeling very good after receiving Indian citizenship. “We had to face several troubles in Pakistan. Robbers could strike at our homes or shops at any time. There was always a threat against our children. Because of these reasons, we decided to leave Pakistan, and come to India, and we are happy we did,” Chandwani, whose wife also received citizenship, today, said.
Mira Maheshwari
Seventy-year-old Mira Maheshwari came to India ten years ago after the abduction and forced conversion of her daughter. She used to live in Sindh province of Pakistan. “My daughter was abducted and forced to convert to Islam. We tried to find her, and also approached court for the same, but we could not find her. Some other people took over the possession of our shop and home, and hence we decided to leave Pakistan,” an emotional Maheshwari said, adding that they took the right decision of coming to India.
