Concessions for Hindu-Sikh Refugees From Pakistan and Afghanistan Announced
Concessions for Hindu-Sikh Refugees From Pakistan and Afghanistan Announced
Government of India recently announced numerous concessions for Hindu and Sikh refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Part of these concessions also involved introducing relaxations in procedures for granting Indian citizenship. Minister of Home Rajnath Singh has also given approval for a proposal for the manual acceptance of applications for granting Indian citizenship to members of minority community who were nations from Pakistan and Afghanistan that entered India prior to December 31, 2009.
The eligible applicants are now facing problems in the submission of online applications and the same can be submitted manually alongside the passports. The regulations also hold that LTV or Long Term Visa of the applicants should be valid at the point when the citizenship application has to be submitted at the office of the district magistrate, deputy commissioner or collector.
An affidavit filed before the authority prescribed under Rule 38 of the Citizenship Rules 2009 will be considered in place of a renunciation certificate. Children of such refugees who entered India through their parents’ passports, can now make an application without a passport for being granted Indian citizenship following regularisation of the stay in the nation.
Children of those persons born in India can also apply without passport for being granted Indian citizenship following regularisation of the stay in the country. Registration of these children will have to be done with the Foreigners Registration Office in the district for the regularisation. The Home Minister’s decision is in light of problems being faced by members of minority community of Pakistan and Afghanistan in submission of application for grant of Indian citizenship.
There are currently 400 Pakistani Hindu refugee settlements in cities such as Jaipur and Bikaner. Sikh refugees in Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and UP are also in need of easier citizenship application process. Currently, media reports estimate that close to one lakh minority community refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan are living in India.
While giving approval for the concessions, the Home Minister also directed the Foreigners Division of the ministry regarding the suitable addressing of the grievances of applicants. This move followed the setting up of the task force to monitor and expedite the processing of LTV/Long Term Visa and citizenship. Singh said he would try to remove the issues faced by members of these communities after their migration to India and their application for citizenship here.
The partition is one of the most painful chapters in the history of India. With so many lives lost and people living in hardships, the partition represents the period in India’s history which is one of the most regrettable events. With new regulations in place to help Indian refugees who want to settle in India, this is a positive step for members of the minority community who want to have the freedom and the right to choose which nation they want to seek citizenship of. With refugees coming in from Pakistan as well as Afghanistan and Bangladesh, humane and compassionate solutions are needed so that people can live in comfort as proud citizens of India.
