DSGMC chief urges Amit Shah to grant citizenship to Afghan Sikh, Hindu refugees

DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to amend the Citizenship Amendment Act so that Afghan Sikhs and Hindus can get Indian citizenship.

In a letter written to Shah, Sirsa thanked the Centre for evacuating members of Sikh and Hindu community from war-torn Afghanistan.

"Your good self is humbly requested to make necessary amendments and provision(s) in (the) Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) law so that Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who have taken refuge in India in the year 2020 and 2021 may also get benefited," the letter stated.

He said the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is also making "all necessary arrangements to rehabilitate these Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in India".

Also read: Can India and the world trust the US after its Afghan debacle?

"Their religions and lives were under constant threat in the regime of Taliban. As there is no scope for them to return back to their country, they and their children have to face many challenges to resettle in India until Indian citizenship is granted to them. They are desperately looking up to (the) Indian Government as a beacon of hope," he said.

Sirsa urged the home minister to consider the issue on priority to make the necessary amendments and provisions in the CAA in the interest of Afghan Sikh and Hindu migrants.

The Taliban swept across Afghanistan earlier this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities in the backdrop of withdrawal of the US forces that began on May 1.

On August 15, the capital city Kabul also fell to the Taliban. A large number of Afghans attempted in vain to flee the war-torn nation.

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