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Rajasthan: Pak Hindu migrants celebrate LS passing CAB

Last Updated 11 December 2019, 12:01 IST

Around 30,000 immigrants from Pakistan living in Rajasthan celebrated the passing of the Citizen Amendment Bill (CAB) in the Lok Sabha, which has brought their lost hope back.

In the migrant colonies of Jodhpur and other cities, people assembled in the groups and shouted slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.

If the CAB gets a nod in the Rajya Sabha, around 12,000 immigrants in the state will be eligible for citizenship with immediate effect. Thousands of Hindus who migrated to India are living in various cities of Rajasthan and have been struggling to find a permanent home over the decades. However, the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB) in Lok Sabha has given hope to these Pakistani Hindus.

Hindu Singh Sodha, the president of Seemant Lok Sangthan, an organizational working for citizenship to Hindu immigrants from Pakistan told DH, "This has been our one of the standing demands and we are thankful to government for amending Schedule three of Citizenship Act, 1955, through the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019, (which was not exercised in draft Citizenship Bill of 2016 tabled in Lok Sabha in 2018)".

According to the Sodha, the Amendment Bill will make it easy for third-generation minority immigrants from Pakistan to acquire citizenship under Section 6 (naturalization) after five years of stay in India instead 11 years. "The uncertainty kept looming over their heads especially the third generation but now they have a ray of hope", Sodha told DH.

Besides reducing the waiting period to get citizenship, now the Hindu migrants from Rajasthan can take benefit from government schemes, and their children too, don’t have access to schools.

Suraj Nath, a Pakistani migrant living in the migrant colony in Jodhpur told DH, "We couldn't have thought of going back to Pakistan. I am completing six months of stay in Rajasthan next month and 2020 will be the best year of my life as I can apply for citizenship. Also, my children can apply separately for citizenship as the new law has not made it mandatory that parents should have got citizenship first."

Special power to Rajasthan collectors

In Rajasthan, collectors of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer have got the power to issue citizenship certificates to immigrants in June 2017. However the districts where the collectors don’t have the power, the state home department recently directed collectors to organize special camps for online application from minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh living in India, for Indian citizenship.

Collectors of Pali, Jalore, Sirohi, Sriganganagar, Bikaner, Kota, Udaipur and Barmer were told to hold camps between December 2 and December 13 on different days in different districts to facilitate citizenship applications from Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from the three countries, the order said.

According to the provisions of the new bill Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and Sikhs who take refuge in India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, will easily get Indian citizenship. In addition to this now it will be mandatory to live in India only for six years as compared to 11 years earlier for citizenship.

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(Published 10 December 2019, 10:24 IST)

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