New Delhi: The refugees hailing from Pakistan and residing in Delhi on Thursday expressed gratitude to the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing them with Indian citizenship through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
On May 15, the central government issued the first set of citizenship certificates over two months after notifying the rules under CAA. "We came to Delhi from Pakistan on October 5, 2013. When the bill for the CAA passed, we were very happy. After that, we tried to get citizenship so that we could also start some work. We applied for citizenship a month ago and we got it on May 15. Now, our future will also be bright. We are thankful to the government of India," Sheetal Das, a Pakistani refugee currently residing in Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila, who got citizenship through CAA, told ANI.
Another Pakistan refugee, Yashodha, residing at Majnu ka Tila, said that they would now be considered Indian citizens and not called "Pakistanis." "We came here in 2013. We faced a lot of difficulties related to water and electricity. Now we have citizenship. Not ours, but our children's future will be bright. We struggled a lot for citizenship. We are happy and thankful to PM Modi. Our children will also get educated like other children and they will have a better future. We were called Pakistanis. Now no one will call us that. We will be considered Indians now," Yashodha told ANI.
Amrita expressed her desire to be a doctor, as she also received citizenship through CAA. "When we came in 2013, there were no schools or electricity. Now, we have both of them. I want to be a doctor when I grow up," Amrita said. Another Pak refugee living at Majnu ka Tila called it a "huge favour" and thanked the central government for "accepting them".
"We applied for citizenship 3-4 years ago. It had been 8-9 years since we came when it was announced that we would get citizenship. We also named my granddaughter 'Nagrikta'. We were very happy. Both of my children are citizens now. I thank the people of the country for accepting us. It is a huge favour for us. We will not forget this in our lives. We will respect this citizenship like we respect our children, our elders and our God. We feel respected. We are grateful to whoever has done this and thought about us," Meera said.
Bhavna, who lives in Delhi's Adarsh Nagar and was one of the applicants who received a citizenship certificate, expressed her happiness upon receiving the certificate. "I have got citizenship and I am feeling very happy, I can study further. I came here in 2014, and I was very happy when this CAA was passed. In Pakistan, we girls couldn't study and it was difficult to go out, If we had to go out, we used to wear burqas. In India, we get to study, I am currently in 11th grade, and I got to tuition as well," Bhavna said.
"A lot of our family members are still there who want to come to India but they are facing visa issues. We are very happy to be in our own country. PM Narendra Modi has helped us so much. We thank PM Modi and Amit Shah. I want to become a teacher and educate the women living in this area," she added.
"When we came here 10 years ago, we did not have citizenship. We are very happy to get citizenship. We used to face difficulties in the admission of our children (in school). Now our children will get proper education and our future will be bright," said another refugee from Pakistan who got citizenship through CAA.
On March 11, this year, the Union Home Ministry notified the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over citizenship certificates to some applicants in New Delhi on May 15. The certificates were physically handed over to 14 applicants seeking citizenship and digitally signed certificates have been issued to many other applicants through email.
The rules envisage the manner of the application form, the procedure for processing applications by the District Level Committee (DLC) and the scrutiny and grant of citizenship by the State Level Empowered Committee (EC), according to an official release. In pursuance of these rules, applications have been received from persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, on account of persecution on grounds of religion or fear of such persecution.
The District Level Committees (DLCs) chaired by Senior Superintendents of Post, on successful verification of documents, have administered the oath of allegiance to the applicants. After processing as per rules, DLCs have forwarded the applications to the State Level Empowered Committee headed by the Director (Census operation). Processing of applications is completely done through the online portal.
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