Dreams do come true: Oldest Pak Hindu woman finally gets Indian citizenship
Jamuna’s citizenship has paved way for the citizenship prospects for her other family members as well.
It is no less than a dream come true for the centenarian Jamuna Devi who has been granted Indian citizenship after a long wait of almost three years.
She along with her family had moved to India in the year 2006 and had applied for an Indian citizenship in 2015.
Jamuna Bai said that she is feeling very good to get the citizenship of India after applying for the same three years back.“I am feeling very good to stay in India and finally become an Indian citizen after 12 years,” she said.
Aatmaram, son of Jamuna Bai said, “My grandfather was a resident of Rajasthan. He went to Pakistan during a famine. However, later we started facing the problem and decided to come back to India. We came here in 2006 and in 2015 we applied for the citizenship of India. Today my mother has become a citizen of India. We want that our whole family must get citizenship of India.”
Jamuna’s citizenship has paved way for the citizenship prospects for her other family members as well.
A bill seeking to accord Indian citizenship to certain minority community refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan was passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8, amid strong objections by some Opposition parties and a shutdown in the North Eastern parts of the country.
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh introduced the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha today. The Bill seeks to facilitate acquisition of citizenship by six identified minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India before 31st Dec., 2014.
Moving the Bill, the Union Home Minister clarified that the Act is not confined to the State of Assam. The Bill will apply to all States and Union Territories of the country. The beneficiaries of Citizenship Amendment Bill can reside in any state of the country.
The burden of these persecuted migrants will be shared by the whole country. Assam alone would not have to bear the entire burden and Government of India is committed to give all help to the State Government and people of Assam, said Rajnath Singh.
Dispelling the misgivings about Citizenship Amendment Act, Shri Rajnath Singh highlighted the discrimination and religious persecution faced by these communities in these countries. They have no place to go to, except India, he said. The Act will provide relief to persecuted migrants who have come through western borders of the country to States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and other States, he added.
Migrants from these communities were earlier given protection against legal action in years 2015 & 2016. Long term visa provision was made for them
The proposed amendment will make these persecuted migrants eligible to apply for citizenship. Citizenship will be given to them only after due scrutiny and recommendation of district authorities and the State Government. The minimum residency period for citizenship is being reduced from existing 12 years under the present law to 7 years.
The Union Home Minister said the present Government has taken several measures to implement the Assam Accord. An important pillar of Assam Accord is Clause 6 dealing with constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards for protection of cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of Assamese people, said Shri Rajnath Singh.
Protests over the contentious Citizenship bill continued in Assam with students, lawyers and doctors raising their voice against the legislation across the state. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha two days ago, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslims who fled religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and entered India before December 31, 2014.